Apartment 22B
by purenonsense
Summary: Kitty and her older sister, Angie, have finally moved to the big city, but what happens when their dream slowly turns to a nightmare. Goes along with the movie, but with my own OCs thrown into the mix. COMPLETED October 12th, 2012.
1. Moving Day

Author's note: I've been reading GB fan fiction for a while now, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring.  
I do NOT own GB or any of their characters.  
I simply own Kitty and Angie Reed.

* * *

Kitty Reed grunted from the hallway, carrying the heavy box down the hallway to her new apartment. Even for her frame, she still struggled with the cardboard box labeled 'Angie's books'. The twenty one year old grunted, resting for a moment to push a piece of dark brown hair behind her ear. Finally she got to the doorframe, dropping the box with a heavy thud, causing her older sister's head to spin around from the living room.

"That's it… You're getting your own damn books." Kitty gasped, leaning against the doorframe for support. Angie just shook her head and got back to unpacking. Angie grabbed some picture frames from a box with the words 'Keepsakes – fragile!' written on the side in black marker, and put them on the mantle.

The small New York apartment had a kitchen and living room, separated by only a bar in between, two bedrooms and a shared bathroom. It was on the wrong side of town and about two and a half train rides away from both of their places of work, but it was home for now.

Kitty stepped over the heavy-ass box, leaving it in the hallway, as she walked towards her sister, resting her head on Angie's shoulder. "Can't we do this tomorrow?"

"Sorry, if you want to sleep here tonight we'll have to unpack." Angie explained, putting the old picture frame on the mantle, the two young girls in the picture smiling wide. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to sleep in that motel for one more night."

Kitty walked to the only piece of furniture in the room, the couch, and flopped onto it. "But my feet hurt and it's getting late. Plus we've still got all your books in the van."

"Don't worry about them, I'll get that. Switch me; I don't know where you want all this crap." Angie said, picking up the now empty box, and throwing it to the empty kitchen. Kitty sighed; standing up from the most comfy place she had been all day.

"I don't know where I want this either."

"This is why we should have packed mom; she would know where all this shit goes." Angie called as she walked towards the hallway, about to pick up the box of 'Angie's books' when she was stopped by a short frame in the hallway.

He just stood there, his glasses pushed far up on his nose, his hair parted to the side held in place by ludicrous amounts of hair gel, he messed with his tie that was peeking out behind a sweater vest. He started to sweat before he finally said "hi."

Angie looked up at him "Hi!" she said, standing up. She was easily a foot taller than this man.

"My name is Louis, I noticed you just moved to the building—"

"Yes we did."

"Oh that's cool, I moved in here a couple years ago. Finally left my mom's old place, ya know? I was hoping that we could get equated, us being neighbors and all; we've got to stick together. You know, you've got pretty eyes. Not to make that sound creepy or anything, I'm not, you could ask anyone. So what do you do for a living? I'm an accountant. Do you do your own taxes, 'cause you know you shouldn't—"

"Thank you, Louis." Angie tried to interrupt, finding it hard when he spoke a mile a minute. "But I've really got to get some of these boxes, if you'll excuse me—"

"Oh I could help. I use to lift when I was in college, and it'll help you go faster, plus we could keep each other company—"

"OKAY!" Angie had to practically scream, "You may help."

Louis beamed.

"Thanks, it's not every day that you meet new neighbors, and I really wanted to make you guys feel like you weren't alone. You guys can come to me with anything—"

Louis continued to talk as he walked down the hallway, Angie stepped over the box in the doorway before looking to Kitty, her eyebrows rose as her bottom lip stuck out.

Kitty simply smiled, loving the universe for the way things had worked out in her favor as she put away cups from a box labeled 'Kitchen crap'.

xxx

Louis had helped them all day. Well, maybe not helped out in the normal sense. He helped by opening doors for them and keeping them busy with his talking. He talked about everything; even his upcoming dentist appointment.

How they were able to get all the boxes in that apartment and then return the van was beyond them. After about an hour of talking, Louis decided it was getting late and headed home. It was 11:38 at night.

Angie was crouched behind the TV set, trying to set it up. Her brown hair pulled into a high pony tail behind her head as she changed fittings and switched cables to the box.

Kitty had called in for Chinese food earlier; she retrieved the bags from the young, pimple-faced man as she paid him and closed the door with the back of her foot.

"Okay, quit tinkering and eat." Kitty ordered, sitting the bags down on the floor in the living room.

"I've almost… got it!" Angie exclaimed as she pushed the button on the set, causing it to first flicker, before the Fonz popped up on screen, in his signature leather jacket and perfectly styled hair.

"Hey!" The two girls rang out, followed by Fonz's _'Aye!'_

Angie climbed out from behind the TV and sat next to her sister on the floor as she grabbed her take-out box. Kitty tore her chop sticks apart and started eating her Lo Mein as _Happy Days_ went to commercial.

"How 'bout that Louis guy, eh?" Kitty teased, talking with noodles in her mouth.

Angie hung her head, "Can we forget about that please?"

"I don't know Ang, I think little Louis has got a crush on you."

Angie just shoved shrimp fried rice down her gullet, hoping to put an end to that conversation. Kitty smirked before turning back to the TV; some commercial for soap.

Kitty leaned her shoulders back, hoping to hear a pop coming from them. Nothing.

"Damn," Kitty exclaimed, "I gotta loosen up before work tomorrow."

"What time are you working to?" Angie asked, covering her mouth so she could keep chewing.

"I'm working until five tomorrow." Kitty sighed.

The commercial had changed to three guys, all in grey jumpsuits, standing in front of the camera. The one in the middle took a step forward as he held some antenna thing.

_"Are troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?"_ He said as he stepped back in line.

The one to his left took a step forward and in a deeper, more nasally voice said _"do you experience feels of dread in your attic or basement?"_ and quickly stepped back in line.

Then the one to the far right shuffled forward, _"Have you or any of your family seen a spook, specter or ghost?"_ and stepped back, seeming annoyed with the entire idea.

_"If the answer is yes then don't wait another minute, pick up your phone and call the professionals,"_ they all climbed together of the last part. _"Ghostbusters."_

Angie stiffed a laugh as she looked to Kitty, who honestly couldn't believe what she was watching.

_"Our kind and courteous and efficient staff are on call 24 hours to serve all of your supernatural ellimation needs."_

They all three popped up on screen again as they said in unison_ "We're ready to believe you,"_ As they pointed at the screen.

The TV went back to _Happy Days_ as the two sisters stared in a daze, both in shock from what they had just seen. Kitty didn't know wither laugh because it was funny, or cry because they were serious.

"That was the single greatest thing I've ever seen." Angie broke the silence. Kitty snapped her head towards her sister, who sat with a goofy grin on her face.

"Were we watching the same commercial?" Kitty asked, earning a dirty look from Angie. "They're quacks!"

Angie crossed her arms as Kitty continued to watch _Happy Days_, picking up some Lo Mein.

"You do have to admit, it was funny." Angie said, still not looking her sister in the eye. Kitty hung her head slightly, sighing as she admitted,

"Yes, it was funny."

xxx

Kitty stirred, tossing and turning on her inflatable mattress. Her back hurt from the pressure on her body, '_mind as well be sleeping on the floor_' she thought as she pulled the sheet up to chin.

Her mind wouldn't let her sleep, as hard as she tried. She knew she had to sleep, she knew she had work in the morning, but she couldn't bring herself to fall asleep.

Kitty's eye lids started to get heavy, her breathing started to slow, and finally she was relaxed enough for her to fall asleep. She stirred slightly, keeping the sheet pulled close to her body.

Suddenly, the sheet started being pulled away from her, sliding down her figure exposing her loose fit t-shirt. Paying no mind, she grabbed the sheet and pulled it back to her chin.

The sheet started to move away again, this time sliding passed her thigh towards her knee. Groggy, she shot up straight in bed and grabbed the sheet pulling it to her jaw line.

The sheets were yanked away from her body, bouncing off the other wall. Kitty sat up, wide awake as she looked around, trying her best to see. Someone had to be there, this wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her, it couldn't be.

_'This can't be happening._' She thought, _'I'm just really tired.'_

Her eyes scoped the entire room, searching from corner to corner, waiting for any movement. Nothing.

"Okay." She said out loud. "You're just freaking yourself out. It was eating Chinese food too late at night and you're having a massive panic attack, nothing major."

She crawled over to the side of the bed, pulling a quilt over her body as she closed her eyes, "It's nothing. You're just really tired."

The feeling wouldn't leave her, the feeling of being watched. She knew she was alone, the sound of Angie's snoring from down the hall made that perfectly clear.

Even though she knew she was alone and nothing could get her, she touched her forehead, her belly button, her right then left shoulder and recited the Lord's Prayer.

Just to be safe.

* * *

And there you go, my first fan fiction. The boys should show up in the next couple chapters.  
I hope you like it.


	2. Kitty verses the Demon Dog

I only own Kitty and Angie.  
Please don't sue me, I have nothing.

* * *

When the morning sun finally rose over New York, Kitty emerged of under her covers, pulling them back over her head. She didn't get a wink of sleep; every time she tried, the damned covers would be pulled from her hands. Kitty sat up, rubbing her hand through her frizzy hair, hoping to tame the mess.

She found some sweatpants and threw them on as she walked into the kitchen. Angie stood there, sipping on her morning coffee, staring intently at the small TV she had set up in the kitchen. She was dressed to the nines: a nice button-up shirt, with a pencil skirt and at least three inch heels, which for Angie was a feat all on its own.

Kitty shuffled over to the bar, resting her head on the linoleum counter top. She exhaled, her chest falling as she heard a giggling.

"You look like hell, Kit." Angie remarked, putting her coffee cup on the counter. Lifting her tired head, Kitty rested her head on her palms, "I feel like hell."

"Tough night?"

"The worst." Kitty said as Angie walked to the fridge. She opened the door and grabbed the milk carton sitting in the door.

Kitty closed her eyes, just for a second, hoping to catch up on the beauty sleep she missed out on. However that couldn't be achieved, she opened her eyes to Angie slamming the cabinet doors, opening and closing random doors. Kitty's eyes widened in a crazed sleep deprived daze that she was floating through.

"Do you know where we put the cups at?—" Angie turned to meet the death glare of the younger sister, baring into her forehead. "What?"

Kitty didn't reply, only lifted her index finger to her lips. Angie winked at her as she _quietly_ closed the cabinet door.

Kitty rested her head on the bar once more, wishing more than anything just to stay home. She yawned, closing her eyes for only a second. Breathing slowly, her eye lids getting too heavy to keep open; she could finally get some sleep. She just might get enough sleep to make it through the day.

That thought was lost when Angie slammed a cabinet door and shouted "We're gonna be late!"

Kitty's head shot up off the table, her eyes widened and blinking rapidly. Angie ran towards the door, grabbing both of their coats. "Come on, we've got to go!" Angie said, tossing Kitty's coat on top of her head.

Angie cackled "I couldn't do that again if I tried – I'll see you tonight!" Kitty pulled the coat off of her head, leaving it on the bar as Angie ran out the door, slamming the door behind her.

Kitty sauntered back towards her bedroom, shuffling her feet as she reached the door. Pushing the door open, her eyes widened, she brought her hand over her mouth as her jaw dropped.

Clothes littered the floor, books that were on the shelf now on the opposite side of the wall lying on the floor, the mattress now leaning up against the wall, posters she had hung on the wall ripped and torn to pieces. Kitty sank to her knees, her eyes welling up.

"What the hell?" she whispered to herself, trying to stop herself from crying, from being sleep deprived, or because her room turned to a murder scene in fifteen minutes, she wasn't sure.

The hair on her forearms rose, she felt Goosebumps all over her body as the eerie feeling came over her again, the feeling of being watched.

A bright light came from the closet, illuminating the edges around the door as she heard a deep growling. Kitty picked herself off the floor and walked over to the closet door as it got brighter, to the point of almost blinding her. "What the hell am I doing?" She sighed.

She reached her hand out to the door, turning the crystal door knob as the light got brighter. The growling got louder; almost sounding like a wolf from one of those nature shows was trapped in the closet. As the door opened, she peered behind it, gasping as she watched the scene before her.

It was a temple, clouds surrounding as a light leeched from the pyramid at the top of the temple. She watched, mouth agape as she watched a canine leap across the temple and face Kitty.

"_GOOOOZZZZEEEERRR_." It crawled, its red eyes peering right at Kitty. She gasped for air as her knees buckled beneath her. The dog looked at her, almost smirked, before leaping, making the almost supernatural jump towards the door.

Yeah, there's a temple in the closet with a talking dog, and the _leap_ was supernatural.

Kitty screamed, slamming the door and flew across the floor. She bolted out of the apartment and slammed the door closed behind her, locking the canine in her apartment.

She grabbed her heart as she leaned against the hallway wall. Sliding down the wallpapered hallway, she rested her arms across her knees and just started to breath.

"Calm down, Kitty. Calm down. There is no dog in your apartment." She told herself, repeating it over and over, hoping that would make it be true.

Upon hearing a door slam, Louis poked his head out the door, hopeful to see Dana on her way to work this morning. However, what he found was much worse.

"Kitty, what are you doing out here?" Louis asked, walking out into the hall, his door closing shut behind him. "Did you get locked out again? You know you can call the super and they'll unlock your door for you. It happens to me all the time. Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."

'_No shit'_ Kitty thought, burying her head in her knees. Louis started to sweat again, "If you want I could call the super, I've got him on speed dial—"

"Thank you, Louis, but I kind of what to be alone." Kitty said, her voice low and almost hoarse sounding.

"I know what you mean. Sometimes you just need to be alone for a while. You just need to collect your thoughts. I used to freak out all the time – so you know what I did? I just decided one day a week I would let all of my anger and frustrations out, that way I wouldn't blow up in the middle of the week, cause I had that one day to blow up—"

"Thanks Louis – I gotta go." Kitty said as she sprinted towards the elevators, mashing the buttons on arrival. Talking to Louis wasn't exactly her idea of 'working things' out. The elevator doors finally opened as she climbed in, leaving poor Louis in the hallway.

"Well I guess I'll see you later then, I've got some things to do inside – see you tonight!" Louis called out, walking back to his apartment. He turned the handle, but it wouldn't budge. He started to bang his body against the door, but it didn't do too much.

He looked down the hall for any signs of life. No one.

"Hello?" Louis called out, his voice screeching as his voice went up an octave.

xxx

Angie had a wonderful day; orientation went great, her new coworkers were so nice, it was perfect. The only thing that could make this day bad is if Kitty had a bad day at her new job.

The elevator doors opened, she hummed along to the song she heard this morning as she walked down the hallway, bouncing to the tune. Her hair bounced back and forth as she shook her head, trying to dance in the hallway.

She was so in the zone she didn't try to tip-toe passed Louis' door, like she had done this morning trying to avoid her new neighbor. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts; she barely noticed the limp body, sitting by the door of her apartment.

"Kit-Kitty?" Angie asked, her mood turning from happy to instantly worried. Kitty had slumped down, leaning against the wall, still in the clothes she was in this morning. Her hair was a mess, her eyes puffy, and more importantly, she was snoring.

Angie knelt down beside the life-less body of her sister, she grabbed her shoulder and shook. "Kitty. Kitty!" Angie shouted. Kitty jumped at the sound of her name, silently cursing her sister for waking her up.

"Kitty, what the hell?—did you not go to work today?" Angie asked as Kitty's head fell to her shoulder. Kitty sighed loudly, nodding. "What time is it?" Kitty asked, yawning as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Considering I'm home from work, I'm gonna guess late. Did you go to work today?"

Kitty shook her head.

Sighing, Angie pulled her sister up by her forearm, leaning her against the white-ish wallpaper. Kitty rested against the wall as Angie pulled out her keys, and that's when Kitty remembered the evil dog like creature in the apartment.

"NO!" Kitty shouted, grabbing the keys from Angie's hand. Angie brows furrowed, looking at her like she grew a second head. "What the hell is a matter with you—"

"You can't go in there."

"Why not?"

"Because there is a demon dog in there." Kitty nodded, believing what she was saying was completely understandable. She was mistaken.

"A dog? What the hell is a dog doing in our apartment?"

"No! DEMON dog. He watched me last night, that's why I couldn't sleep, and then I couldn't go to work because of that demon dog." Kitty could barely hold herself together. She held the keys close to her, hoping to never have to go in that apartment again.

Angie held her hand out, "I want to see this dog." Angie said, grabbing the keys for Kitty's grasp. Kitty's eyes grew twice their normal size as Angie unlocked the door.

Kitty cringed, as the door swung open, bouncing off the back wall. "Wow." Angie said. Kitty opened her eyes, peering into the apartment. It looked the same as this morning.

"Nothing changed." Kitty said.

"I know, you'd think you could clean up with all your free time today." Angie remarked as she walked into the apartment, looking over the small apartment. "Did you leave the TV on?" Angie asked, Kitty shook her head as she followed Angie in.

Kitty walked right behind her sister, following her step-by-step as a toy commercial blared on the TV.

"Okay where is this dog?" Angie asked, Kitty pointed to her bedroom.

Angie walked straight up to the bedroom, her arms swinging back and forth before she opened the bedroom door.

The room was the same as when Kitty had left: clothes on the floor, posters torn up, books thrown across the room, bed up on end; it looked like a tornado came through and just tore shit up.

"Dear god, woman! Did you go postal or what?" Before Kitty could retaliate, Angie asked "Where is this dog?"

"Closet." Kitty said, hiding behind the door frame. Angie rolled her eyes as she opened the closet door, practically pulling it off the cheap, plastic hinges. She pointed towards the closet, showing Kitty what was hiding in the wardrobe. Nothing but a few hangers.

Kitty shook her head, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She knew she wasn't imagining it, how could she have? She felt like she was going crazy. The past 24 hours had been straight from hell, and she didn't have any proof but a messy bedroom.

Angie grabbed Kitty and hugged her. Kitty rested her forehead on Angie's shoulder. "I don't know what's going on, but I think you need some sleep." Angie said, patting her sister on the back. Kitty let a few tears leave her eyes, "I've tried. _It _won't let me sleep."

"Well I don't know what else to do, Kit." Angie said, pulling her sister away. It killed her to see Kitty like this; this wasn't the Kitty she knew. She didn't sleep when they lived in the motel, and she's not sleeping here. Something was seriously wrong.

"I just want sleep." Kitty groaned, leaning on the wall for stabilization.

_"Are troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?"_ The familiar voice rang out from the living room. The two sisters walked to the living room, staring at the TV.

_"Do you experience feelings of dread in your attic or basement?" _Kitty looked at the TV, hopeful for the first time. "Ang." Kitty called, Angie turned to her sister.

"I know I've made fun of these guys but," Angie's eyes widened. "Do you think they could help?"

Angie bit her bottom lip, "They could. I mean, it's worth a shot. Worst they could do is say you need sleep."

Kitty grabbed Angie and squeezed her waist, "Thank you!" Kitty exclaimed, feeling relieved for the first time all day.

"We'll go in the morning," Angie sighed, looking back at Kitty's murder scene of a room. "Tonight, we clean."

* * *

A/N: This seemed to take forever. I kept taking things out and putting them back in. Blah!  
NEXT CHAPTER will have the boys in it, I promise.


	3. Getting Some Help

I own Angie and Kitty and that is all.  
I don't even own my computer.

* * *

The city blared around them; cars passing by, people arguing over a one-dollar hot dog, and the firehouse in the middle of all of this. The brick firehouse stood there, plaster falling down from around it, the mortar in the brick cracking and separating from foundation.

The sisters walked across the street towards the firehouse, Kitty's head craning up to the black and white banner across the large door, reading 'GHOSTBUSTERS'

Angie pushed the large black door open, holding it open for the sleep deprived young woman following behind.

Another restless night. Kitty tried to sleep in her bedroom, she really did. However, as soon as her college textbooks started to fly across the room and hit her, she knew it was time to get out. Sleeping on the couch was her only solution.

Kitty stepped through the doors, walking into the office/garage, at the looks of it. Boxes littered the lobby, leading back to a receptionist desk while a short, red-headed woman sat behind a desk, typing something on the computer.

The girls walked up to the receptionist desk, passing an old, 50's style black hearse, that happen to have a pair of legs sticking out from under the hood.

The receptionist looked up at the girls from her computer, glaring at them from behind her large glasses.

"Can I help you?" she said, a thick Bronx accent echoed off the walls. Kitty nodded furiously, "Yes – at least I hope so. My sister and I saw your commercial and where hoping you guys could help us." Kitty pleaded, interlocking her fingers together in front of her.

Dr. Peter Venkman perked up when he heard a woman's voice, looking over the tall stack of boxes they still had to unpack to watch two young girls talk to Janine.

Taking no time at all, Peter ran across his office, vaulting over the partition and landing next to the two girls in record time. He offered his hand to the smaller one, her blue, all-be-it bloodshot, eyes looking up in surprise at him.

"I'm Dr. Peter Venkman. How can I help you both?" He said, setting his charm all the way to eleven as he slowly shook her hand.

"I-I'm Kitty Reed, this is my sister Angie." She said, trying to get her mind back on track. Her sister, the slightly taller one, smiled and waved awkwardly, stuffing her hands back in her pockets as she looked around the firehouse.

"Kitty, huh? That is _quite_ a name."

"It's a nickname. In high school there were five other Katie's, zero Kitty's."

"I can believe that. It takes a _special_ woman to have a name like that." Peter said, watching as Kitty laughed nervously, the light blush flushing over her cheeks.

Angie cleared her throat, growing increasingly uncomfortable. "We were hoping you could help us." She said, peeling Peter's attention away from the younger of the two.

"That all depends on what you have." Peter said, his voice changing from a Don Juan to a true scientist.

"That's why we came to you." Kitty said, pulling his attention back to her. "I feel kind of crazy even bringing it up."

"That's all we get through here, day in and day out." Peter laughed, earning a glare from Janine. "Maybe we could run some diagnostic test, see if what you're experiencing is real."

Peter walked over to the old hearse in the middle of the room. "Hey Ray!" Peter called, kicking the pair of legs that stuck out from under the hearse. A BANG! Echoed out from under the hearse as the car wobbled slightly, followed by murmured cursing as he rolled out from under the car.

He sat up, rubbing his forehead, completely oblivious to the two girls near Janine's desk. His face was dirty from the grease of the old car, a cigarette hung from his lips as he looked up at Peter, glaring at him for making him bump his head.

"Ray, these lovely girls would like our help with a possible paranormal experience." Peter said, leaning on the hood of the car. Ray glanced over at the two girls for a moment before jumping up, straightening his hair and clothes, suddenly conscious about how he looked.

Angie giggled slightly, covering her mouth as if that was going to stop her from the deep blush she was experiencing. Peter smiled slightly, watching the interaction between his best friend and the young woman. _'I could use this'_

"Ray, this is Kitty Reed, and her sister, Angie." Peter said, waving towards the girls.

Ray wiped his greasy hand on his pant leg and offered his hand to Kitty. He smiled as he shook her hand, nodding slightly. "Ladies, this is Dr. Ray Stantz." Peter said, he smiled as he stood back with his arms crossed in front of him.

Ray let go of Kitty and shook Angie's hand, he felt like his heart leapt into his chest. _Which is impossible_, he thought. She smiled brightly as she shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Ray." She said.

And then it hit him, he couldn't say any words. Anything, nothing would come to mind; not a single word came to mind. How do you top, _'It's nice to meet you, Ray'_? Do you say '_you too'_, or _'same here'_?

At this point Ray would be good with anything. One single word is all he needed. '_Come on Ray, you can do this. It's just a girl, and it's just a word.'_

Ray nodded and stepped back by the hearse, silently kicking himself for not saying a word. Peter covered the bottom half of his face, mostly to stop himself from laughing out loud at how awkward his friend was being.

"So!" Peter said, clapping his hands together, drawing some of the nervous energy away from the situation _Ray _had created. That was Peter's story, and he was sticking with it.

"I think we should all head up to the lab, maybe figure out what's going on with these two, huh Ray?"

"Uh… Sure. I'll go get Spengler and we can start running some tests."

"He's probably upstairs in the lab anyway, why don't we all head up?" Peter said, before leading Kitty towards the stairs, his hand on the small of her back.

Angie just shook her head as she hung back, walking with Ray. Ray stuffed his hands in his pockets before taking a deep breath. _'Okay, you can do this. Just talk to her. She came here for an answer for a paranormal issue, you know the paranormal. Just talk to her_.'

"So, how long has this been going on?" Ray asked as they reached the stairwell. "The activity, I mean."

"Well," she sighed, biting her bottom lip. "We just moved in a couple days ago, but Kitty's been like this for a while."

"You're thinking psychokinetic breakdown?" Ray said, Angie's brow furrowed, "A what?"

"Uh," for a moment, Ray forgot who he was talking to. "It's uh… Never mind – what do you think it is?" He asked, as they both walked up the stairs to the lab.

"I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't." Angie said, looking down at the floor as she climbed the stairs. She looked back at him, "That's where you guys come in."

He smiled before looking at his feet, hoping to hide the blush across his face. She bounced up the rest of the stairs, Ray's eyes following her before they reached the second floor.

'_First costumer and Ray's already got the hots for her.'_ Peter thought, watching as Ray and Angie followed behind them_. 'I've never been more proud.'_

xxx

Kitty looked around, watching as the man they knew as Dr. Egon Spengler attached pads to her pressure points; her forearms, her temple, and her upper chest, which Peter happily volunteered to apply. Kitty looked worryingly at Angie, her brows rising towards the heavens.

Angie leaned over to Ray, who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. "Is this gonna hurt her?" She whispered. Ray looked down at her, and shook his head "Nah, this won't hurt at all. It'll just tickle a little bit. Like a light electric charge."

Egon flipped a switch, causing the wall of machines and computer to start buzzing and beeping. Like Ray said, Kitty felt a light vibration on her skin were the patches stuck to her skin. Egon disappeared behind a computer desk; Peter took charge of the situation and started the test.

"It is June seventh, nineteen eighty-four. It's nine thirty four in the morning." Peter started, taking his button-up sweater off his shoulders and throwing it on the empty couch. "The subject is Caucasian, female, roughly five eight in height and in her early twenties. The following people in the room are Dr. Stantz, Dr. Spengler, the subject's sister, and myself. Now, Kitty, are you ready?"

Kitty nodded apprehensively, taking in a deep breath.

"Now, in your own words, please describe the events that happened to you."

"On June first, my sister and I moved into our new apartment over on Central Park West. That night, when I went to sleep, the sheets were being pulled off of me. I thought I was just sleepy and imagining things, but then the sheet flew across the room. I stayed up all night, fighting with whatever, and got virtually zero hours of sleep. The next morning, I went to get ready for work when my room was trashed, and this light started to come from the closet."

Angie covered her mouth, the shock of all this getting to her.

"When I opened the closet, there was this temple, like thing, and this dog that growled at me. I slammed the door closed and ran out of the room. I haven't had a decedent night of sleep since."

Peter rubbed his chin, his bottom lip stuck out as he hummed. "That is _quiet_ a story." He finally said, looking over to the scientist behind the computer. "What do you think Egon?"

Egon stood up from behind the computer desk, staring directly at Peter, "She's telling the truth, at least she thinks she is." Egon walked over to the couch, and plopped down. "It could be a number of things. Manipulating objects sounds like a poltergeist, however the growling dog in the closet sounds more like possetion. Ray?"

Ray sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "It could be, or it could by psychokinetic energy trapped in the apartment."

"Repressed memories." Egon mussed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Past life experience." Ray suggested, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

The two sounded like they were talking in code.

Peter sauntered over towards Kitty, pulling off the patches still left on her skin, as the two book-worms mused. "Sorry about them," Peter Said, removing the patch from her right forearm. "They can be a little… wordy sometimes. Like now, for instance." Kitty laughed as Peter pulled of the next patch, one on her chest above her heart.

Angie watched the two scientist go back and forth like a tennis match. They bounced ideas off one another, before Ray said "Before we get ahead of ourselves, maybe someone should go to the apartment, take some readings. Then we can come back and see if it's a real haunting, or something else."

Peter smiled as he pulled off the last patch from Kitty's temple. "That's a great idea, Ray." Peter said, turning around to look at him, "Well what are you waiting for?" Ray looked confused; something, the two sisters guessed, didn't happen often.

"Your idea, you're coming with." Peter said as he offered his hand to Kitty. She took his hand as he helped her up.

Ray looked stunned, not expecting to go on field work to early. Peter looked back to Ray, "Just change out of that monkey suit and we'll all go over to the apartment. It that okay, girls?"

Angie shrugged her shoulders, "That's fine with me."

Peter smiled widely, his planning slowly coming together. Ray pulled the zipper on his jumpsuit before sliding out of it, he wore a red flannel shirt tucked into a pair of khakis under that 'monkey suit'. Angie bit her lip as she watched him climb out of the jumpsuit. _'Damn'_ she thought before shaking the thought out of her head.

Ray turned to face Angie; a childlike smile crept across his face. "Are you ready?" He asked, offering his arm in the first bout of confidence he had all day. She took his arm, before flashing him a bright smile.

They followed Peter and Kitty down the stairwell, his heart skipped a beat with every step. _'She's holding my arm, she's actually holding my arm'_ Ray thought to himself, somehow trying to stay calm under all this pressure.

He had to get his mind back on track, he had work to do, and he couldn't just ignore work for some girl. He looked back down at Angie as she gazed around the garage / main lobby, marveling over the equipment before looking up and Ray, smiling.

_Some girl_.

* * *

Ray has got a bit of a crush.  
I know I should have said this in the other chapter, but thank you, ElywnClark for your review.  
I hope you enjoyed it!

~Pure


	4. Investigating the Apartment

I own Kitty and Angie.  
Do you thinking think I'd be doing this if I owned GBs?

* * *

The four of them made it to the apartment building, Ray and Peter wielding different handheld sets as they scanned the hallway. Peter waved a long stick like apparatus over the hall, Kitty tried to ask about it, he simply told it her it was 'technical'. Ray on the other hand was more than happy to tell what each piece of equipment did. He slid a pair of goggles over half of his face, and waved a small handheld device over the walls.

Angie walked ahead of the two scientists and slid the key in, turning the tumblers in the lock as Ray and Peter caught up.

"Nothing in the hallway," Ray said, the goggles squishing his nose down.

"I agree." Peter nodded. "You know, we might need to come back later, make sure this ghost doesn't come back. Maybe Friday night, eight?"

Angie ignored Peter as she shoved the door open; it bounced against the back wall as Peter walked in first. "We'll do a survey first; make sure it's okay for you ladies to come in." Peter said, strutting into the living room, Ray following behind, staring at the meter in his hand. Angie crossed her arm across her chest, sighing as she leaned against the doorframe.

Ray waved the PKG meter over the living room, looking for any abnormal spikes. Peter on the other hand, took a different approach.

"That's right boys, it's Dr. Venkman!" He shouted at the air, waiting in silence for something to make a noise. The air didn't respond.

Peter turned to the unimpressed girls standing in the doorway, he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I scared 'em." Peter said, wondering around the living room. Angie rolled her eyes as Peter plopped down on the couch, putting his feet up on their coffee table.

"Dr. Venkman?" Kitty called, taking off the scarf from around her neck. Peter jumped up and said, "Please, call me Peter."

Kitty nodded, "Okay, _Peter,_ would you like to check the room that actually had the… event?"

Peter thought a bit, asking him if he really heard her right, if she had just asked him to go to her bedroom.

"Okay, let's check it." Peter said as he walked down the hallway. "Which is it?"

"The one on the left." Kitty called, sitting on the arm of the couch, watching him 'work'.

Peter reached out of the doorknob slowly, taking a deep breath. He twisted his wrist as the door flew open, he gasped at what he found.

"Ray, you're gonna want to look at this." Peter called out. Ray shuffled down the hallway, staring into the room. "Wow." Ray breathed, resting the goggles on his forehead.

Angie and Kitty followed in suit, staring at Kitty's room. It was the same was when they left; books on the floor, clothes thrown everywhere (even hanging off the ceiling fan), the bed pushed up against the room.

"You should fire your housekeeper." Peter remarked. Ray walked in, carefully stepping over any possessions as he read the PKG. Kitty just shook her head, "this is what I already told you. This happened the other night."

"And you hadn't cleaned up yet?" Asked Peter, climbing over the piles of clothes.

"I-.. Thought it was evidence." Whimpered Kitty, feeling a little naïve for her thought process.

Ray waved the PKG around the room, focusing on the closet itself. The arms on the side rose as it lit up, whining loudly. His brows furrowed, going over the same place a couple times, getting the same reading. Opening the closet door slightly, Ray poked his head in, seeing nothing but empty hangers. _'That doesn't make any sense.'_ He thought as he hit the side of the meter a couples, it read the same.

"Ray!" Peter called out, waving his hand in front of Ray's face. Ray snapped out of whatever technologic daze he was in and joined the real world.

"I said I'm sorry there isn't anything here." Peter said, motioning to the girls, "however, we wouldn't feel right charging them for nothing, so we'd gladly accept a date Friday."

"And we told you," Angie started as she walked into the younger of the two's messy room. "That we would rather just pay you."

"See, I'm insulted." Peter said, putting his hand over where his heart would be. "All I did was ask for one night for my friend and I."

Peter made his way over to his friend, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. "I mean, look at this man. When was the last time you think he was on a date?"

"Thanks man."

"No problem." Peter patted Ray's chest. "Just give us a chance."

Angie smiled as waved him towards the doorway, "Goodbye, Dr. Venkman."

Peter shrugged his shoulders, walking out of the bedroom and towards the front door. Ray started to walk out, before he stopped in front of Angie. "If it makes you feel any better," Ray said, Angie's arms crossed over her chest, "He _really_ does mean well."

Kitty strolled to the front door, walking in on Peter peering at their family pictures. "Dr. Venkman—" She stopped herself, "Peter. I want to thank you for trying to help us."

"I'm sorry we didn't find anything." Peter leaned in, "Personally, I think you're sister is a cesspool of negative energy. Maybe when she moves out and gets her own place, we can come back and scan again; prove my theory that your sister is a—"

Angie and Ray walked into the living room, holding their own conversation.

"—Wonderful person and should be treated with love and respect." Peter finished, feeling Angie's stare boar into the side of his head. Kitty laughed slightly, covering the bottom half of her face.

Angie rested her hand on Ray's forearm, sending electricity up his spine "Thank you."

Ray's brows furrowed, "For what?"

"Well, for showing up. Even if you didn't find anything, you still made my sister feel better, and that's all I could ask for." Angie smiled again, her eyes sparkling up at him.

'_She's cute when she smiles._' Thought Ray, smiling himself. '_No! You cannot like your first client. You need to quit hanging around Peter_!'

They both walked towards the door, Angie's hand still on his forearm.

Kitty shook Ray's hand, "thank you." Ray smiled and nodded. Kitty offered her hand to Peter, who instead of shaking it, brought her hand up and kissed her hand. Kitty turned twelve different shades of red, "Th-thank you, Peter."

Angie cleared her throat, louder than she needed to. Peter snapped back to reality and let go of Kitty's hand, turning to Angie. He took her hand and shook it, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Angie."

"If anything happens again, just call us." Ray suggested, acting with a little more professionalism than before.

"Oh yeah, I'll call next time I want my sister ogled." Angie remarked, staring at Peter. Peter simply smirked, "Anytime!" He said, winking at Kitty.

Peter left the apartment and started down the hallway, Ray stayed behind. "If the activity gets worst, call us, we'll come right out." He said, handing Angie a business card.

"Thank you, Dr. Stantz." Angie said, leaning against the door holding it open. Ray smiled and said "You're welcome, Miss Reed."

He waved to Kitty and followed behind Peter, who was already to the elevators.

xxx

Peter and Ray stood in silence, only the musical tone of typical elevator music played, hiding the roaring of the cables of the elevator. Ray bit his bottom lip, suddenly his shoes became the most interesting thing on the elevator. _'Peter will never let me live this down.'_ Ray thought as Peter cleared his throat. Ray's dreams of a silent ride to the ground floor were dashed when Peter said "Did you find anything during that sweep?"

Ray sighed, thanking his lucky stars that he didn't ask about Angie. "Yeah, I did. Really weird readings, 1152 on the PKG. It went crazy, but I couldn't see anything with the Ecto-goggles."

"What does that mean?" Peter asked, Ray just shook his head, "I don't know. I'll check with Spengler at the lab, he may have some ideas."

It got quiet again. Ray was fearing the worst.

"So, that Angie girl, huh?"

Ray kept his eyes on his sneakers, studying each line and stitch in the leather. Peter raised an eyebrow, hitting on something. "I think she's pretty cute."

"Hm." Ray didn't want to be talking right now.

Peter sighed, shoving his hand in his pockets. "I mean in a koala kind of way," Peter remarked, "She's all cute and cuddly until you get close and then she'll rip your face off."

Ray just bit the inside of his cheek, trying to stop himself from laughing.

Peter tapped his foot on the metal floor, his heel making a clicking noise. The elevator jazz did a terrible job of covering the metal-on-metal sound. It seemed to be getting louder. The metallic sound seemed to be right on top of them before the lift stopped, shaking the elevator and all its occupants.

"Uh oh." Peter said, looking around the elevator. He banged on the door with his open fist, "Hey! Anybody there?" Peter shouted at the closed elevator doors.

The PGK meter started to buzz, the arms on the side lifting and started blinking. Ray picked it up, it started to buzz louder the higher he put it. His brows furrowed, the possibilities were endless on what could be causing it: natural shifts, the building itself could be magnetized and that's why Angie and her sister are having issues, it could be something paranormal.

Peter sat down on the ground, "So I guess we're gonna be stuck here for a little bit."

Ray sighed, sitting down, defeated. "I guess so."

Between the elevator music, the metal sound of the elevator itself, and the PKG buzzing, it slowly gave Peter a massive migraine. He rubbed his temples, trying to relief some of the pressure.

This was gonna be a long night.

* * *

There is it!  
Thank you, miss HinataElyonToph for your review.  
Thank you all so much for reading.


	5. Down But Not Out

I own Kitty and Angie Reed.  
I don't not own Ghostbusters.

* * *

Peter rested the back of his head against the steel of the elevator, closing his eyes for only a second, he thought. It had been two hours since the elevator decided it wasn't gonna work anymore and at least an hour before Peter and Ray stopped beating on the door to get someone attention.

Ray stared at the PKE meter, amazed how it hadn't gone down since they had stepped onto the elevator. It held steady at 1128. He went through different theorems in his head, none of them fitting this situation.

The elevator was quiet, the two Ghostbusters inside distracted by their own thoughts, they barely noticed the metallic banging coming from the elevator shaft around them.

The banging got louder, and closer to the lift; Ray's eyes widened as the PKE Meter jumped around, going from zero all the way back to eleven hundred. Peter's brows furrowed, his brown eyes darted around the small elevator searching for the source of the noise.

A loud bang hit the top of the elevator, followed by a knocking sound from the ceiling. "'Ey? You guys okay in there?" A voice rang out from the ceiling, the thick Brooklyn accent echoed off the walls of the elevator shaft.

They both jumped up from the floor, a wide smile spread across Ray's lips as he stared at the ceiling. "Yeah, we're fine."

"What the hell took you guys so long?"

"We took the scenic route, stopped to smell the flowers." The voice remarked. A bang rang out in the elevator shoot as the latch opened up; a forty-year old handyman glared down at the two Ghostbusters. He looked rough for his age, already having sunspots hiding under the brim of his New York Yankee ball cap, covering the last couple strands of hair on his head.

"You girls ready to get outta there?" He asked, peering down at the two.

"But we were just about to start a boggle tournament." Peter whined, stomping his foot on the floor for effect. As he stomped, the lift shook, swaying slightly from t.

Ray smacked Peter on the arm before climbing up and out of the elevator, with the aid of the handyman.

Peter huffed. "Well, don't just leave me down here!"

xxx

Finally they were free, they flinched at the brightness of the world – "The world needs a dimmer switch." Peter remarked – as they made their way back towards the firehouse with more questions than answers.

Egon had kept himself busy while the guys were out, modifying the proton packs, fixing a faulty PKE meter, and even got to work on the containment unit for a little bit.

His fingers glided across the keyboard as he calibrated the program for the containment unit. Something like this had never been attempted, he was little fuzzy on the details of what it would take to make the unit itself. After talking with Ray, they had a basic idea of what they wanted, a place to keep large quantities of psychokinetic energy, without running the risk of having a paranormal event, or even a cross-rip. Even the idea of a cross-rip gave Egon the chills.

Typing in line after line code, as if it was nothing, he didn't even notice a young woman walk into the basement. Her eyes darted all over the room from behind her over-sized glasses, before landing on Egon, who was still typing into the computer at a rapid pace.

"Uhh, excuse me?" She called out, Egon jumped slightly before spinning around, facing the young woman. She clinged to the railing on the stairs, her long red nail wrapped tightly around the rail, as she peered around the basement. Hesitantly but curious as she looked around the small area, her brows furrowed as her eyes rested on the containment unit behind him.

Egon cleared his throat, "Umm, yes?"

"Oh! Yes – umm, I was hoping you could help me with my computer, it seems to be on the fritz." She explained, her arms crossed across her chest as she leaned her shoulder on the wall beside her.

He swallowed heavily, going back and forth in his mind what to do: finish the containment unit, or help her with her problem. The containment unit would be a few more hours; her problem would probably take less than fifteen minutes.

"Umm, sure, I can help you." Egon stepped away from the unit, making his way towards the stairs. She motioned towards herself, beaming a smile towards him, "I'm Janine."

"Egon." He stated, before awkwardly passing her on the stairs. Her head craned as she watched him go up the stairs. She hummed to herself before following him up the stairs, bouncing up the stairs behind him.

Egon looked towards the door as Peter and Ray walked through the doors, looking worse for wear. "What took you guys so long?" Egon asked, earning a passing glare from Peter as he walked back to his office.

Ray rubbed the back of his neck, "We were trapped in an elevator on the way back." Ray sighed as his neck popped, reliving the annoying pain in his neck.

"Did you find anything at their apartment?" Egon asked, slowly walking to Janine's desk planted in front of Peter's office.

Ray shrugged his shoulders, sighing loudly. "I'm not sure. We didn't find anything concrete, but the PKE meter went crazy on that entire floor." He said as he leaned against the hood of the hearse, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

Egon crouched down under Janine's desk, sliding the computer tower around to see the back, all it's wires hanging out and it different directions. '_This is gonna be fun._' He thought as he glanced behind him, Janine watched closely, sending him a bright smile before he turned back around to get to work on the computer.

He needed to clear his head, Ray thought. He couldn't just keep brooding about it, it wasn't gonna help him in anyway. Besides, there is still work to be done! The containment unit needed to be calibrated, he needed to work on his design for a sort of trap, and he needed to fix the hearse he was so carelessly leaning against.

Ray snaked out of his jacket, placing it on the bumper of the hearse, before climbing back into a jumpsuit, covered in this mornings oil. He leaned over the engine, trying to focus on the problem at hand, this car.

xxx

Angie plopped in the lazy-boy chair, sprawled out across the arm rests as she sighed. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ease her oncoming headache as Kitty leaned against the opposing wall, her arms lay across her chest.

Why didn't they find anything? This was seriously happening and nobody was helping her. Even though Dr. Stantz and Dr. Venkman –_Peter_ tried, they didn't do anything. They couldn't even find whatever was plaguing her.

If there was something seriously going on, they would have found something. What if nothing was going on? Kitty bit the inside of her cheek as the thought entered her mind. What if she was just making it up? It couldn't – she wouldn't! Why would she make something like this up?

But it wasn't out of the realm of possibility; it was something that _could_ happen. She hadn't slept well since they moved to New York, maybe she was imagining it.

"What are you thinking about?" Angie asked, snapping Kitty out of her thoughts just in time. She shrugged her shoulders before biting her lip. Angie raised her eyebrow as she smirked, "bullshit."

"What?"

"Bull. Shit." Angie said, sitting up straight as her slightly smirk turned into a full blown grin. Kitty flinched, knowing after twenty years of living with her that her grins were evil little thoughts. Her wild expression turned to the softer, calmer appearance. "I know you wanted to hear something else today."

"Hmm…" Kitty mused, hoping to get this 'conversation' over as quickly as possible.

"Just because they didn't have answers, doesn't mean that there aren't any. We'll just keep searching until we find what we're looking for."

"What if there isn't an answer?" Kitty asked, her words escaping her lips with a bite. "What if the reason that Peter couldn't find an answer is because there isn't one?"

"What are you saying?" Angie asked, standing up out of the chair. Kitty ran her hands through her messy hair, "I'm saying that this could be just my imagination. What if I'm just making this up?"

Angie's brows furrowed, "why would you make something like this up?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Kitty shouted before biting her bottom lip, all but drawing blood. "It's the only thing I can come up with."

Angie walked slowly over, placing her hand on Kitty's shoulders, Kitty flinched. Angie took a deep breath before shaking her head at her baby sister.

"Look, just because one lead didn't turn out well, doesn't mean we're gonna give up. We're gonna keep looking for answer." Angie said as Kitty scoffed, not looking her in the eye. "I know you wouldn't make something like this up. This is _scaring_ you – hell, it's scaring me! But we can't give up. Promise me you wouldn't give up."

Kitty stared out the window.

Angie shook her shoulders, snapping her back to this conversation. "Promise me." Angie said again, the look of a worried mother plastered over her face.

Kitty bit her cheek and nodded, wanting more than anything for this to be over.

Angie smiled, pulling her sister in for a hug. "It'll be okay. I'll get a priest to come down and bless the apartment if I have too." Angie joked, lightly laughing as Kitty stood unaffected. Kitty knew that this wasn't something that two 'scientist' would figure out, or some man in robes with magic water.

This was going to take real muscle.

xxx

Running errands, that's what Peter told the boys he was going to do. He grabbed his jacket and strolled out, leaving most if not all of the work up to Ray and Egon. Peter walked down the street, passing street merchants selling Rotex watches and Prado purses to unsuspecting tourists, making his way to the local book store. For some reason, Ray had given him a list of books to get 'while you're out'. Kitty's case was bothering Ray more than should, he thought reading some new material would help them.

It was open and shut case for Peter; she was faking it. Stress, or a maybe some grown woman temper-tantrum, he wasn't sure. Some strange PKE readings didn't mean much, only it was possible something might happen.

Peter shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts from his head. He didn't need this right now, he needed to find a way to make some money at this gig, and running around helping some skitzo isn't gonna get the bills paid.

The bookstore was a little hole in the wall off Fifth Avenue, Peter almost passed the store completely if it wasn't for the small chalkboard sign that they had set up out of the sidewalk. The chalkboard read that they were having a sale on tarot cards and dowsing rods, thirty-three percent off!

Peter opened the door as the bell hanging behind the door rang out a sweet chirp. The old woman behind the front desk, having just been awaken from a nice nap, looked up at Peter and smiled a toothy grin. "Every time a bell rings, and angel gets her wings." The old woman stated, her voice hoarse from years of smoking. Peter nodded, "How many bells do you think it would take to get one to go to dinner with me?" The smile faded from the old womans face before she sunk down back in her chair.

Peter paused before a moment, simply staring at the old woman as he made his way to the front desk, "I'm here to pick up some books for Ray Stantz." He asked, leaning on the counter by his elbow. The old woman nodded and moved from her chair and to the back, passing through a doorway with beads acting as a separator.

Suddenly, a cat jumped onto the counter, the calico purred as it rubbed against Peter's arm, itching a spot that it couldn't reach before. Peter glanced down at this purring cat as it walked over to the cash register and sat on the keys.

The old woman hobbled back through the beaded door, now carrying a stack of books almost as tall as this old woman. _'Leave it to Ray.' _Peter thought as the old woman put the book on the counter. She glanced over at the cat, shooing the feline away, "Get back, Ivo! Get off that!" She coughed, as the cat jumped down from the counter, now walking around his owners feet.

Peter glanced at the old woman as she started to ring up his books. "So, seriously," Peter started, "How many bells do I need to get an angel?"

The old woman glared at him before raising her wrinkled finger, pointing at Peter. "You act like a hotshot, but there is an air about you."

"Thanks, it's this new cologne. I think it's called 'Majestic'—"

"Shut up." The woman said bluntly. "You need to hear what I am saying. You understand?" Peter swallowed, before nodding, not wanting to say another word. The woman motioned for Peter's hand and traced her cold fingers across the lines on his palm. "It seems tough now, but you will make it through. However, you and your friends will need to make a tough decision that will alter the course of history." She looked at his hand closely, "You are _not_ strong enough to make this decision. You fear that you won't make the right decision and you're _right_."

Peter blinked a couple times, trying to understand what the hell he was doing. Was he really getting his palm read by an old bookstore owner? "However, you are on the right track. Keep following your heart and there is a slim change you will make it through."

"I knew it!" Peter exclaimed. "_'Follow your heart'_ crap, its rule number one of being a '_psychic_' – good one though!" Peter pulled his hand away from the old woman, standing up straight at the counter. "Where do I get my horoscope read?"

"You act as if this is a joke, and it might be for you. But peoples lives are stake. Make the right choice and your friends lives will be spared. Fail – and I'm sure you can guess what will happen." The old woman finished with a cackle.

Peter ignored the Coney Island psychic and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. "How much for the books?"

xxx

Peter made his way back to the firehouse, he held the door open with his foot as he walked through to see not much had changed; Ray was still working on the hearse. He was now working back behind the engine on the passenger side, silently cursing every time he hit his head, or smashed his fingers, which came around like clockwork.

Janine sat behind her computer desk, reading some rag of a magazine while Egon worked on the computer below, trying to focus on the computer problem and not the pair of legs - and what else they lead to - next to him.

Peter dropped the large stack of books next to the hearse before banging on the body of the hearse, making Ray jump and hit his head on the hood above. "Shit!" Ray exclaimed, rubbing his head with his one kind-of-clean-ish hand.

He stiffed a laugh as he walked up to Janine's desk and paused a moment, peering down at the small red-headed woman. "Janine, any messages?"

"No." She replied in a monotone, not even glancing up from her magazine.

"Any calls?"

"No."

"Any customers?"

Janine looked up from her magazine, "No Dr. Venkman." She said as she got back to her magazine, licking her index finger before flipping the page. Peter just stood there, a smirk appeared on his face, "Great job, ain't it?" Janine plastered on a fake smile.

"Type something, will you? We're paying for this stuff." Peter said as he made his way to his office, which was currently covered in boxes and miscellaneous papers. Janine watched as he strolled into his office before he called out "And stop staring at me, you've got those bug eyes!"

Janine turned back to her magazine as Peter stopped in his tracks, thinking over what he just said and mentally slapping himself. "Janine? Sorry about the bug eyes thing – I'll be in my office."

Peter slouched down into his office chair, sighing heavily. This was going to be the end of this little adventure. No calls, no customers, no money rolling in, while money keeps on rolling out the door with a little wave that says _'See yah, Pete!'_ never to be seen again. Maybe good ole Pete needs to switch to decaf, he pondered before resting his eyes.

"May I help you?" Janine asked, her nasally voice ringing out from her desk. '_Maybe I should re-think the whole secretary bit.'_ He thought as he listened closer. A new voice entered the conversation.

"Oh yes, but you see I don't have an appointment." The new voice replied to Janine. Peter's eyes opened wide, noticing the voice was a soft, _frightened_, female voice.

Peter hoped up from his seat and peered over the large filing cabinets in between his office and Janine's, a young woman stood, her curly brown hair hovering at her shoulders, her face twisted into a concerned, but curious face.

"I was hoping that I could talk to someone, about what I saw." She said, explaining all this to Janine. _'That's adorable'_, Peter thought before making the only rational decision: running out of his office and vaulting over the partition.

He surprisingly stuck the landing, granting himself a 9.8 from the Russian judge as he offered his hand to this new face. "I'm Dr. Pete Venkman."

She looked at him in surprise, not expecting a scientist to suddenly appear like he did. He half smiled at her as she took his hand. "I'm Dana – Dana Barret."

* * *

GAAAH! I am SO sorry it took so long to put this chapter out.  
I kind of wrote myself into a corner with them being trapped in the elevator.  
I just had a massive case of writers block.  
But I'm back on track.  
I hope guys enjoy and thank you guys for the reviews, they seriously helped me through.

~Pure.


	6. They're Everywhere

I own Kitty and Angie Reed.  
I do not own Ghostbusters.

* * *

The smog had rolled in from the harbor, covering Manhattan in a white, fluffy blanket, blocking out the sun as the city below was lively as normal. The sound of car exhausts, shouting New Yorkers, and taxi's blasting horns bounced off the buildings, giving the city its natural 'appeal'. Despite the fact that the city is crowded, noisy and mostly covered in dirt, Angie loved it.

After a week living in the city she couldn't get enough of it. It was everything she thought it would be and more. If only Kitty would catch the same fever Angie had.

Angie strolled down the street, Jenna Gibson and Michelle Wu at her side as they walked back to their office building, coming back from a lunch break.

Jenna was roughly nineteen, still a baby to the rest of the office. Their other coworkers vastly underestimated her, her blonde locks bouncing around her shoulders, and her olive skin, a contrast against her pale blue eyes; they figured they'd be babysitting her. She was eager to prove them wrong, ready to defend herself at a moment's notice. 'Jersey' was her explanation, usually delivered with a grin.

Michelle was nothing like Jenna. She was quiet, meticulous, and almost as if she was thinking about everything all at once. Her black hair always pulled up behind her ears, clipped in by a barrette on the back of her head, exposing her pale, porcelain skin. Michelle had been working there for little over a year, and had managed to go completely under the radar. The only sound that would be heard from her cubical would be the sound of typing, nothing more. On a bad day, you might hear a sneeze from her corner; but other than that, nothing.

Jenna was in the middle of telling a story about when her friends drunk dialed her at three in the morning last week. "So Tony is just talking to me, right?" Jenna said, unleashing her usual restrain on her jersey accent.

"And then, in the background, I hear Zach start yelling _'Policia! Policia!_' in Spanish." Jenna starts cracking up half way through her story, grabbing her chest. Michelle laughs quietly; covering the bottom half of her face as Angie just shook her head, trying to stop herself from laughing.

Angie's gaze landed upon a certain white, 50's style hearse, the emblem of a little white ghost with a red cross through it displayed on the passenger door. She smirked to herself before looking to the back of the hearse, the back door swung wide open.

The Ghostbusters had been on everyone's mind and TV for the past week and a half, it seems. People were just so surprised by these three guys, claiming that they could get rid of ghosts for a small fee.

Angie almost spit up her coffee one morning when she saw Ray and Peter on the morning news. They were talking about their first big case, the local Sedgwick hotel, which had a spook on the twelfth floor. They had both cleaned up, cleaned shaven, brushed hair, and both sat on set, answering the interviews stupid questions about Ouija boards or something. After seeing Ray in a tie, Angie made her mind up that he looked better in a jumpsuit.

As of late, the Ghostbusters were celebrities, appearing on the TV, radio, even on the magazine rack on the street corner. It seems like people caught onto a Ghostbuster high, and they weren't coming down any time soon.

So when Angie saw the ghost-mobile, or whatever they were calling it now, it almost didn't surprise her that the Ghostbusters were now encroaching on her work. Angie peered around to the back of the hearse, standing on her tippy-toes to see over the car door at the two unsuspecting paranormal investigators.

They were loading the car up, putting their packs on a modified stretcher when one of them looked up at Angie. She hadn't met him before; rather tall black man with a pencil thin mustache, his jumpsuit looked just like the others that Angie had seen on TV, only he had the name 'ZEDDEMORE' across the breast pocket. He poked the other 'buster, who was all-but crawling in the hearse, in the arm and said "Ray, I don't think we're alone."

"What do you mean?" He said, before climbing out of the back of the hearse. Zeddemore pointed his index finger above the door, Ray practically spun on heel to face Angie. His eyes widened momentarily at the young lady staring at him.

"Angie!" He exclaimed, moving out of the way before closing the back door. It slammed with a satisfying thud as Angie dropped, standing at her proper height.

Ray smiled warmly, he's smiles seemingly contagious as Angie smiled back, beaming her pearly whites. "It's good to see you! How have you been?" Ray asked. Angie shrugged, her shoulders meeting her earlobes as she replied, "I've been good, I guess. Not as good as you guys, though."

Ray rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, well. A lot of that publicity stuff was Peter's idea."

"There wasn't a doubt in my mind." Angie remarked, remembering the last time she saw Peter, shamelessly hitting on her sister.

The other Ghostbusters, Zeddemore, cleared his throat loudly. Ray almost jumped, having forgot Winston was even standing there.

"I'm sorry, Z." Ray said, a hint of a Canadian accent escaped as he motioned to Zeddemore. "Angie, this is Winston Zeddemore. Winston, this is Angie Reed." Winston extended his hand; Angie took it and smiled brightly. "One of our first clients."

"Nice to meet you." Winston said, lightly squeezing her hand. Angie nodded, "It's nice to meet you, too. How many other 'busters do you have back at firehouse?"

The two laughed, Ray shook his head, "None. This is the fourth and final Ghostbuster."

A throat cleared from behind Angie followed by a a light sound of a foot taping on concrete. Angie turned to see Jenna and Michelle standing there, Jenna's arms cross over her chest.

"If you guys want you can go up without me, unless you'd like to meet the Ghostbusters?" Angie suggested, motioning to Winston and Ray, who waved at the two unimpressed girls.

Jenna spun on her heel and walked into the building, Michelle followed behind, making less of a fuss than Jenna, who was exclaiming that "This is bullshit!"

Angie mashed her lips together before turning back to Ray and Winston, "Sorry about them."

"It's okay; I'm kind of used to girls not wanting to talk to me." Ray said, a hint of sadness hidden behind his words. Angie crossed her armed over her chest, "You cannot tell me that you don't have girls running up to you every day. I've seen the news."

Ray smiled, looking down at the ground before rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, you've got me there." Ray laughed.

Winston looked back and forth between Angie and Ray, both of which were acting like two teenagers in class. He suddenly realized he was acting like the eavesdropping teacher. He cleared his throat before patting Ray on the shoulder, "I'm gonna go log our hours." Winston said. Ray nodded before Winston turned to the young woman to Ray's left, "It was a pleasure to meet you." He said before excusing himself to the driver's seat.

"It was nice to meet you, Winston!" Angie called out before he closed the door, shaking the entire car.

There was a lull in the conversation; an awkward silence covered the two. Ray bit his cheek; he knew this might not have been the best question to ask. He lowered his voice, barely above a whisper; Ray asked "How is Kitty doing?"

It made Angie feel good to know that Ray was worried, but she almost didn't want to talk about Kitty. She had changed.

She hadn't been sleeping a normal sleep schedule, staying up every night and sleeping all day. She had lost her job over this new sleep pattern, which aided in her sleeping all day.

Kitty could no longer sleep in her own room, she had decided to take up refuge in the living room, Angie's room, and once, last week, Angie found her passed out in the kitchen. She would also snap at people, things, anything that could have annoyed her, it was blown out of proportion. Angie figured it was just the lack of sleep and let it roll off her back.

_Once Angie had come home from work, Kitty was passed out on the couch, blankets scattered around the apartment. A single quilt, the one Grandma Pat made them, covered the nocturnal sister as she laid in an improved yoga move. _

_Angie took off her jacket, and placed it with her purse over the bar, before tip toeing passed the sleeping giant. The floor boards creaked, moaning loudly as she tried to walk quickly over to the kitchen. That mission had to be abandoned as Kitty rose from her slumber, sitting up straight like a vampire in an old silent film rising from the coffin. _

_Angie looked over to see her sister, her wide bloodshot eyes gazed at Angie, but seemed like it she really didn't look at her, just gazed in general direction._

_"Quiet." Kitty strained her voice hoarse from the day-time napping. "I need... quiet" Angie swallowed and nodded as Kitty lowered back into the couch before sleeping once more, a light snore from the living room confirmed that._

Ray's eyes widened before he ran his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath; different ideas filled his head, not a single one better than the one before that. He looked at Angie as she silently gritted her teeth, not looking Ray in the eyes. This couldn't be easy on her either, her once bright eyes now bloodshot and downcast, and she had worry lines around her eyes, though she still seemed to at least _act_ like she was happy.

A thought entered his head, one he hadn't thought of five thousand times since their last meeting. The activity had gotten worse; there was a greater chance of something being there now. He could investigate, and maybe even use that new technique he'd wanted to try out.

"Angie," Ray asked, switching from a blushing teenager to a true-blue scientist. "I have an idea, will you and your sister be at your apartment tonight?"

Angie nodded, looking hopeful for the first time in a week.

"I would like to investigate, tonight if possible. Is that okay?"

Angie smiled wider than she knew was even possible, her eyes wrinkling as she exclaimed, "That's perfect! Do you really think you could help us now?"

Ray thought for a moment, weighting the options in his mind, the pros and cons. Ray smiled; a chance to help Angie and her sister, finally get this case off his mind, and clear his mind and conscience, the pros definitely outweighed the cons.

Ray nodded, "I think I really think we can-oof!"

Angie couldn't help herself. She threw her hands around Ray's neck, pulling him close. Ray was taken off guard, not sure exactly where to put his hands. "Thank you." Angie whispered in his ear, holding back tears. Her breath on his ear made shivers go down his spine; he prayed that she didn't feel him shake.

He felt sorry for the girl; no one should have deal with a loved one on the verge of a mental breakdown. He mustered a small bit of courage as his arms snaked around her waist, pulling their chests closer. He could feel her heart beat.

She slowly released her grip on him, Ray mirrored her actions before she smiled to him, his hands now resting comfortably on her hips. Tears weld up in her eyes as she fought them back, not wanting to cry in front of the man that was going to help them. She started laughing; she was being so silly crying over being happy. Never before had she cried because she was happy.

Ray looked both concerned and confused; trying not to laugh with her as his eyebrows raised to the heavens, worried about the mental stability of this girl.

Their 'tender' moment was interrupted by Winston blasting the horn on the Ecto-1, snapping Ray and Angie away from each other like two teenagers caught in the act. Ray started to blush, caught in a compromising position with a client. A_ client_.

"I'll-… Uh…" Ray stammered, shoving his hand into his pockets and staring at the suddenly interesting black-top. "I guess, I'll see you later tonight."

Angie smiled, nodding her head, not wanting to say anything to make this any more awkward. Slowly, Ray walked towards the front of the car, almost tripping over himself – "Didn't see that curb!" - before finally sliding into the passenger seat.

Angie just smiled and started walking back to her building, but not before turning to wave at the two Ghostbusters in the front seat. Ray waved before Winston peeled out of their spot, sounding the siren that sounded like a nasal whine.

Ray stared at the hood ornament passed the windshield as Winston drove down 4th Avenue and away from Angie's building. Ray looked over to Winston, swallowing hard before asking "Don't tell Peter?"

Winston smirked, chuckling to himself before nodding, taking a quick drag from his cigarette. Ray released a sigh of relief before grabbing a cigarette for himself. He lit it with the car lighter, and took a long drag from the cigarette before staring out the window at the buildings of Manhattan as they went by in a blur.

* * *

Kitty's heart rate quickened, her palms drenched in sweat as she stared back at the demon before. Its eyes blazed like red coals, piercing the darkness surrounding them both. Though physically shaken, she couldn't peel her eyes away from the demon dog, who had just released a sigh from its jowls. She wasn't afraid, more curious than frightened. She took a deep breath, clearing her thoughts of any doubt before speaking to the demon. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice cracking with every syllable.

The demon stayed silent, staring intently back at her as if she was supposed to know the answer to her own question. Its red eyes were the only light in the eternal darkness, blinding Kitty if she stared for too long. She swallowed, waiting to see if the dog would communicate or simply stare at her for the rest of their time together. The silence was maddening, she waited for the answer, but it never came. Kitty bit the inside of her cheek, getting annoyed by the damned dogs' silence.

"Talk to me, damn it!" Kitty shouted, her voice echoing through-out the chasm.

"_The choice is not yours._" A new voice entered the void. The dog turned its head to its left, staring at the darkness. Kitty turned, expecting to see someone there, but was met with only darkness.

"What are you talking about?" Kitty begged, her eyes searching in the pitch darkness for something, some shape, some shadow to get her bearings, but nothing stood out. She heard a cackle erupt from the darkness; the dog seemed to almost purr as it closed its eyes from an invisible hand stroking its head.

Suddenly a pain radiated from her head, racing from her forehead towards the back of her head and down her neck. Kitty shrieked in pain, grabbing the back of her head as the voice continued to laugh at Kitty's misery. The sharp pain then moved from her neck to her shoulders, down her back and arms, covering her legs before finally engulfing her entire body in pain from her head to her toes.

The dog stared back at Kitty, its eyes shining upon her body, now wrapped in the fetal position as she whispered a soft prayer to which ever God would listen.

* * *

And that's that!  
I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I liked writing it.  
Thanks for reading!  
~pure.


	7. The Exorcism of Kitty Reed Part One

I don not own Ghostbusters.  
I own Katherine and Angela Reed.

* * *

Angie had a smile plastered on her face all day, earning a prompt 'What the fuck' from Jenna. She told her nothing and got back to work, though her thoughts were far away from work. The timing of the universe was incredible, bringing Ray into her life at that exact moment; someone was definitely looking over her.

After work, and after ignoring Jenna's empty threats for information, Angie walked home, almost skipping down the sidewalk, earning every dirty look she got. She was happy, and didn't care if others saw it or not.

Though, with going home, came facing the demon of Kitty, whose reign over the living room had not completely died out just yet. When she left this morning, she distinctly heard her mention something about a taxi cab, and the cops being called. Angie didn't want to stick around to hear the rest before marching out the door, closing the door quietly behind her.

She made a beeline for the elevator, stopping it just before it closed. It opened up with a metallic whizzing noise as she stood in the back of the elevator. Wiggling her toes in her black Mary Jane shoes they cracked with a satisfying pop. She leaned her head back and sighed content, letting the tightness fade away.

With a ding the elevator doors opened, sliding across their track as Angie walked off and made his way down the hallway. Her mind elsewhere, the floor boards creaked below her feet, working as an alarm as Louis opened his door. "Hi Angie." Louis started as he walked out of his apartment, closing the door behind him. "How was your day?"

"Good," Angie said, walking towards her apartment, "Really good."

"Oh, that's good. You know, you shouldn't leave your TV on so loud, Mrs. Erikson almost called the super."

"Hmm? That must have been Kitty."

"Oh! That makes sense. I forgot your sister has been staying home most days. Has she found a job yet? I bet she hasn't, this isn't the best job market. Not a whole lot of entry level jobs." Louis continued as Angie slipped her key into the lock, turning the tumblers. "Hey, I know, I can ask around at work, see if they have a position at work. It might not pay a lot, but it's better than sitting around all day—"

"Bye, Louis!" Angie said, closing the door in his face. She sighed loudly, immediately feeling bad about slamming the door in face. He just wants to talk to someone. Bet it has to be lonely, being by himself all the time. Though, after living with Kitty during the past week, Angie would be glad to trade with him.

Angie turned to face the pigsty before her; clothes littered the floor, hanging off of book shelves, on the back of the couch and even over the bar in the kitchen. Angie's book stacked in weird places, like in the middle of the hallway, and magazines turned to a certain page before being left there to their own devices.

A deep sigh escaped Angie's lip, she was gonna have to clean before Ray got here.

Her thoughts turned to the creator of all this mess, the demented Kitty was nowhere to be found. Slowly building up the courage to face her younger sister, something she never thought she would have to do, she peered over the back of the couch. It was void of human life, covered in miss-matched blankets and a quilt their grandma Pat made them as a going away present.

She started to get worried, Kitty hadn't left the apartment in a week, and Angie wasn't completely sure she had left the couch in a few days.

"Kit?" Angie called out, removing her jacket from her shoulders before resting it over the couch. No response. She pursued her lips, taking a quick glance around the apartment before a growling pulled her from her thoughts.

Her attention turned to the hallway, a million different thoughts radiated through her head, each thought as crazy as the one before. This couldn't be happening, she told herself, it couldn't be real.

She struggled to catch her breath as she stared at the pair of dark, red eyes illuminating the hallway. It released a deep, gut wrenching growl before Angie made a break for it.

* * *

It had gotten colder since this afternoon, Ray thought to himself as he shoved his hands into his jacket pocket. Ray had practically been on cloud nine, being in a daze since seeing Angie earlier. It was a great surprise, making his terrible day – two class four vapors – into a much better one. Winston kept his promise, telling Peter nothing. Though, you had to give it to Peter, he didn't give up easily. He bugged Winston for the rest of the day, even taking on a few cases in hoping that Winston would let something slip up. His lips were shut tight, not leaking a single word_. 'I like this guy.'_ Ray thought, watching the two of them interact.

However it was Ray, not Winston, that let it slip that he was gonna go take on a case on his own. Peter read the look on his friends face, he was happy about something, and the only reason Ray wouldn't tell him is if it was about a girl. _"It's that old lady down at the bookstore, isn't it?"_ Peter guessed, earning a roll of the eyes from Ray. _"I knew it! She's the perfect girl for you, just the right amount of 'creep'."_

Peter, not satisfied with Ray's silence, decided to tag along, taking it upon himself to 'put in some over time'. Walking along side Ray, wrongly guessing who Ray was going to see, he almost immediately recognized the building on Central Park West.

"Ray?" Peter asked, gritting his teeth. "Are you going to see my Dana?" Peter glared at Ray, referring to their other client, Dana Barrett. Peter had gotten attached to Miss Barrett, feeling protective over her in her time of need as she was fighting her own 'spirit'. Peter once wondered if something was in the water of the building, making the women see 'ghosts'.

Ray shook his head as he pushed through the glass double-doors, leaving Peter with a sigh of relief. Peter caught up with Ray, who he had noted had shaven, and even put on some nice cologne, and asked "Then who is it?"

The two Ghostbusters walked right passed the elevators, their last encounter leaving a sour taste in their mouth, and towards the stairs. Ray opened the door leading to the stairwell as Peter pondered some more. Who else did they know in the building?

Then it hit him, like a ton of bricks it hit him. Peter grinned widely, a grin Ray knew, after years of being his friend, was never a good sign. "I've got it!" Peter exclaimed, all-but skipping to meet Ray face to face. "It's that Kitty girl, isn't it?" Peter asked, pointing his finger at Ray, "You want to see if she lives up to her name."

"No!" Ray exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck. Peter thought a bit longer, "the only one else it could be is the sister—" Peter stopped, watching Ray's eyes dart to the ground. Peter's shoulders dropped, "No Ray," Peter breathed, "Not the koala."

"I ran into her today." Ray tried to explain as Peter started up the stair case. "She said that the activity has gotten worse – what was I supposed to do?"

"But the Koala?" Peter whined, stomping his feet on the wooden stair beneath his feet. Ray shook his head, stopping himself from laughing at Peter's 'lovely' nickname for the for-mentioned sister.

"You two just got off on the wrong foot," Ray suggested, shrugging his shoulders at the idea, "Maybe if you gave her another chance." Peter rolled his brown eyes around in his skull, letting the idea of the Koala and him getting along swim around for a while.

He highly doubted that they could be in the same room for too long without one of them making a snide remark about the other one. It was just the way things are. When Peter did it, it was charming, disarming. When Angie did it, it was mean spirited and evil; Peter nodded along with the analogy in his head. _Makes perfect sense_. Finally, Peter thought as they reached the Reed sister's floor. Peter shoved his bodyweight against the steel door, pushing it open as he peered around at the empty hallway.

The small hallway was covered in white wallpaper; crème colored carpet had been sprawled down the hallway as Peter held the door open for the follow investigator, who was currently panting as he climbed up the stairs. The artistic décor seemed to have popped out of the 50's magazine, and not one of the good ones that people actually read, Peter thought. This magazine would have been used for kindling. Ray nodded at Peter, silently thanking him for waiting up, before making his way to the apartment.

The floor boards squeaked beneath their feet, exaggerating every heavy footstep in the hall as they passed the elevators. Just passing them gave Peter a sour taste in his mouth, one similar to the metallic taste of pennies in your mouth; still giving them the creeps.

Peter sighed loudly, having done a lot of thinking between the stairwell and the Reed apartment. He stopped in the doorway, blocking Ray's access.

"Okay, I'll give Angie one more shot." Peter sighed, watching as Ray's face as he broke out in a grin. "But if it doesn't work, I say we let the ghost eat her or whatever."

Ray gnawed on his bottom lip, stopping himself from laughing too hard at the fresh image of Angie being picked up and eaten by an opaque, vaporous apparition.

Peter stood up straight, puffing his chest out slightly before rapping his fingers on the wooden door leading to the Reed household. The rhythmic knocking echoed down the empty hallway, creating some sort of noise in the painful silence. Clearing his throat in a rather vulgar manner, Peter lifted his chin and raised his brows to the heavens, an idea forming.

"Oh miss Angie?" Peter sang, giving a quick glance at Ray. "Your lover boy is here!"

Ray's eyes widened, distorting his gentle features as he turned a soft shade of crimson. Peter raised his eyebrow as a smirk spread across his lips like wildfire. Pushing Ray's buttons, and especially this new 'Angie' button, was worth getting up in the mornings, Peter mused.

Before long, Peter started to notice the deafening silence, it being more prevalent now than earlier in the stairwell. Peter turned to Ray, whose face was returning to a normal shade, and asked "She knew we were coming right?"

Ray nodded.

Peter's eyebrow knotted as he pressed his dark brown eye to the peephole, gazing in at the empty apartment. A light sepia color illuminated the apartment, the twenty year old lamp in the corner of the room doing its job as Peter could see almost everything. The apartment was trashed, and that was putting it kindly as clothes, blankets, books and even some dishes scattered the front room.

Peter could only see the living room, which as it had been mentioned, looked like a rat had been living there, and had made a nice, cozy little home for itself. "The lights are on." Peter stated, his words muffled by the door in his face.

Ray mashed his lips together nervously, waiting for something from the peeping-Peter to say that they were in there.

Grabbing at his stomach, Peter's features twisted into one of disgust. The metallic taste had returned, the same one from when they passed by the elevators, now tasting like mix pennies and bile. Just the thought alone made Peter start to get a little woozy, the taste almost crawling up the back of his throat. Ray caught a glimpse of Pete as he covered his mouth, trying to stop a burp and whatever else from exiting his stomach.

"What going on?" Ray asked, his voice low and in a whisper. Peter shook his head back and forth, shaking the feeling out of his head. "I don't know." Peter admitted. Not an easy feat for him. "But I've got a feeling."

Peter leaned up against the door again, positioning himself to be able to gaze through the peephole. The scene stayed the same, not even a single shadow ran across the wall as Peter waited. The feeling in his stomach told him something was about to happen, not really trusting 'feelings' until he got into this paranormal business. It was something that Coney Island psychics got, normal people didn't get 'feelings' or 'vibes'. Anyone who did was on some heavy stuff.

From out of the corner of the room, a shadow brushed passed, blocking out the light from the lamp in the corner momentarily before disappearing. Peter's lips moved to a ridged line as he watched for any other movement.

It came out of nowhere.

A high-pitched scream escaped from around the door, momentarily leaving Ray and Peter deaf. They both winced at the screech, cowering slightly at the pitch. Ray covered his ears with his palms, as Peter looked back through the peephole – the shadow of Angie's body flew across the room, resembling a rag doll as she disappeared out of view in the kitchen.

Peter pushed himself away from the door - as several violent sounding bangs echoed from the apartment - and faced Ray. His breath quickened, his mouth agape and his eyes widening to almost three times their normal size; to say Peter looked concerned was an understatement.

Ray read him instantly, his expression soon matching Peter's.

He had to do something, he thought, going to through the different plans in his head. He couldn't actually let Angie get eaten; then she'd never pay them! Peter took two large steps backwards, his back hitting the opposite wall.

"Stand back!" Peter commanded. Taking two deep breaths, he thought about what he was about to do. Was he really about to do this? For the Koala? 'Yes.' His subconscious answered.

He rocked back and forth, psyching himself up for what he was about to do. It was stupid – sure! But he wasn't about to lose a client to some ghostie, it just wouldn't be good business. Finally, he was ready. Peter took a sprint towards the door and fully extended his leg against the wood paneling, kicking right above the door knob.

The door didn't move, but Peter's knee did.

Sheer pain radiated up his leg from his knee, Peter screamed as he stumbled backward, grabbing his leg. "I didn't do that! I didn't do that!" He shouted, the words becoming something of a mantra as he tried to nurse his knee, which he could feel start to swell beneath his jeans.

Ray mashed his thin lips together before staring down at the crème colored carpet. If Peter caught him laughing at him – what could he do? In all honesty, what would Peter do, hobble in his general direction?

An idea popped in the young scientists head. Scientific theory suggests the correct answer is always the simplest and often overlooked. As Peter unleashed a barrage of curse words, Ray walked to the wooden door, and grabbed for the doorknob next to the new addition to the door: a Peter sized boot scuff on the white painted door. With a single twist of the wrist, the door flew open; hitting the back wall as it had many times before.

Peter was speechless. His mouth hung agape as he stared at the now opened door, thanks to Ray, who stood there with a smug, look-what-I-did look on his face. Peter huffed, standing up on his one good leg and walked to the doorjamb. He stopped momentarily to turn to Ray, pointing at a finger in his face. "Don't get a big head now."

Ray smirked, watching as Peter hobbled into the apartment, dragging his foot along the hardwood of the apartment. Ray turned to join him in the apartment as he looked around at the sight before him.

The apartment was truly a mess, even worse than what Peter had seen originally. They stood on several feet of clothes that covered the entire floor. The wallpaper started to peel from the wall, suddenly losing grip on the sheetrock beneath. "I guess they aren't getting their deposit back, huh?" Peter remarked, spinning around in the living room, gazing at the decorative carnage.

A whiff passed Peter's legs, the fabric of his pants swaying in the light breeze as his brows crinkled. Peter hobbled closer, following the draft towards the hallway, starring in the darkness - A staring contest he could actually win.

Ray heard a moan. It sounded fragile, and definitely female. He spun on his heel, looking for the source of the moan before hearing it again, this time it sounded like it said something. In the faint coos, he almost definitely heard his name.

"_Raaay…_"

He turned to face the kitchen when he saw her, sprawled out across the kitchen floor; His heart leapt into his throat. She looked in bad shape, Ray didn't want to say dead, but close to it. She laid on her side, her curly, auburn hair covering most of her face, so he couldn't see if her eyes were open. Her breathing was shallow, light, almost nonexistent as he knelt down by her, grabbing her shoulder lightly as he rocked her back and forth.

"Angie." Ray called out, the sound of worry hidden in his voice. "Angie!"

She moaned lightly, stirring slightly before taking in a sharp intake of breath. Her brown eyes fluttered open, gazing around the room. Her eyes wandered around the room before landing of Ray, his sweet smile staring back at her. "Peter!" Ray called out, turning towards Peter, who was currently winning a staring contest with the darkness. "She's okay!"

"Oh, _great_." Peter said, sarcasm dripping off every syllable.

Angie started to stir, groaning against her lips as she tried to sit up on her own. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He warned, "Easy now." He grabbed her forearms, gently lifting her off the linoleum flooring. She took a deep breath, hissing as just moving hurt. A sensation she wasn't used to.

Ray did he best, watching as the young woman flinched and groaned at her injuries as he helped her to her feet. Sliding her feet under herself, she was able to stand on her own, her knee's shaking still from the impact. Her fingers had wrapped themselves around Ray's collar, using him as support. She didn't even notice her hands that close to him, forcing him closer to her. Sighing heavily, she leaned her body into his.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she choked back the tears hiding on the rim of her eyes as she whispered "Thank you." Her words muffled by his shirt.

Ray's body seemed to move on its own as well, pulling her in as his arms wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her into a hug. It killed him to see her in pain, her body still shaking from whatever had happened. He felt her body start to softly convulse as she held back tears, not wanting to completely break down in front of him. He rubbed the small of her back, comforting her slightly. "Shhhh." Ray said, comforting her as he rested his chin on her head. "It'll be okay."

Peter started to get that feeling again. The feeling of pennies and bile reentered as he started into the darkness. He stood his ground, though an injury like this he might not have been able to completely 'stand his ground'. Peter cleared his throat, clearing the flem from his vocal chords as he called out into the pitch black hallway.

"Hello!" He shouted into the darkness. Ray and Angie turned to watch as Peter now had a conversation with the darkness. "Whoever you are, you've got until the count of three to get out here." Peter's threats seemed malicious; the most angered Ray had ever seen him before. Even in the years of studying and working with him, never had he heard such ferociousness come from Peter.

He continued to stare into the darkness, almost waiting for something to pop out and go 'boo', like a bad Halloween prank, but was met with silence again. The silence was deafening, causing the lightest of ringing in his ears. If it wasn't for the ambient noise that comes with the territory of living in the City, then it would have been maddening. Peter smirked, winning this battle with the darkness as it had been silent for too long.

"That's what I thought." Peter called out; taunting whatever spirit might have been there. Suddenly, Peter had wicked idea, noted by his eyebrow raising. "I knew nothing powerful would ever be stupid enough to show up in some dinky apartment on the upper west side!" Angie's brows furrowed, slightly offended that Peter would make fun of her apartment. Though he was standing on several days worth of clothing, the wallpaper was peeling from the walls and that little ghost problem – doesn't give him the right to make fun of her apartment, no matter how shitty it was.

A deep growling exited the hallway, starting off softly. Peter's eyes widened as the growling grew in pitch, practically shaking the apartment to the lobby with its aggressive snarl. Angie spun around, facing the hallway as tears weld up in her eyes, blurring her vision. "No, it can't be." She mumbled, covering the bottom of her face. Ray, not taking his eyes away from the fantastic display of psychokinetic activity, asked "What is it?"

Angie's heart sank, not wanting to tell who it was doing this. A pair of crimson eyes emerged from the darkness, illuminating the hallway. Its growl slowly started to form words. _'Goooozzzzeeeerrrr…'_ "Angie," Ray asked again, hoping to shake her out of her shock induced daze. "What is it?" Angie shook her head. It couldn't be - there was no way.

"It's Kitty."

The younger of the two stood in the hallway, her once styled hair now wild and frayed, standing on end as her blood-red eyes combed over the apartment. Slowly, the dilated eyes of a possessed Kitty focused in and their target across the room, in the scientists' arms.

In a flash, Kitty was no longer in the hallway, staring Peter down with a Clint Eastwood look in her eyes. Peter spun around, following the blur as it arrived in the kitchen, wrapping it's fingers around Angie's throat.

"Hey-!" Ray shouted, trying his best to protect Angie. Kitty was too strong, too fast; she pushed the paranormal investigator back with supernatural strength. He slammed into the pantry, collapsing to the floor upon impact. With Ray unconscious, mumbling something about 'dry white toast' and 'getting the band back together', Kitty focused her sights once more on Angie as she squirmed beneath her fingers.

Angie clawed at Kitty's hand, digging her nails into Kitty's cold, pale flesh, leaving noticeable marks. It didn't faze her. If anything, it simply pissed off the possessed woman as she tightened her grip, putting even more pressure on her throat. Angie found it harder to breath, feeling her throat physically closing by the supernatural pressure her sister was dealing.

A smirk appeared on Kitty's pale face as she slowly lifted the older of the two. Angie kicked her already tired legs, trying to gain some sort of momentum to break free from her grip, but it was no use. The more Angie kicked, the more tired she became; if she didn't kick at all 'Kitty' would succeed in killing her. It was a lose-lose situation.

"_Your soul shall be most useful."_ Kitty growled, uttering a deep, other-worldly voice from her mouth as Angie silently gave up. No use fighting. Angie's body went limp in Kitty's hand, hanging like a rag doll, before finally succumbing to her fate. Kitty expressed a grin, a sick, teeth-baring, Grinch-like grin on her pale, sunken in features. Two down, one to go.

Peter had gained a running start, throwing caution, and the need to complain about his twisted knee out the window as he tackled Kitty, grabbing around her around her waist and knocking her to the ground, Angie's limp body following suit. Kitty growled, annoyed by the pestilent pest of a scientist. Peter regained his composure as grabbed onto Kitty's arms, restraining her temporarily.

Silently apologizing, Peter through one leg over her abdomen, straddling her as she fought against his grip. She growled, and hollered, and even bucked a couple times, trying to get at a silence the annoyance one and for all.

He shifted his weight, pinning both of her legs down her his knees, he reached into his front blazer pocket and pulled out a small syringe, a light blue color locked and ready to go. Kitty's eyes widened at the apparent drug in his possession, and started to squirm even more.

"Ray!" Peter called out as her struggled to hold down the bucking Kitty, mimicking something of a professional bull rider. "Ray?! You can wake up now!"

Stirring from his forced nap, Ray groaned heavily, rubbing he back of his head. He could feel the dent that the impact made on the base of his head, the area swelling up to be quiet a large knot on his head. Slowly, he pushed himself up, moving at a turtles pace as he moved his feet in underneath him.

For a quick moment, he wondered why he wasn't in the firehouse, why he had woke up on the floor. As Ray glanced around the room, and more specifically Angie, lying across the floor once again, he remembered.

Glancing at Peter, who was currently trying to stop the possessed girl from biting him, Ray crawled along on his elbows, making his way over to them. Peter grabbed Kitty's shoulders and slammed her back on the floor again, her head made a sickening thud – but she never falter, not even noticing her head bouncing off the linoleum. He held her down, a quick peek over his shoulder confirmed at Ray was alive and willing to help, even at the slowest of paces.

"So glad you decided to join the party. " Peter remarked, his voice a little jumpy from the possessed bady below him. "Oh please, take your time. No rush or anything."

Ray glared at Peter, which as he was now seeing double, he wasn't sure exactly which Peter he was glaring at. Slowly Ray made his way over to Peter and Kitty as Kitty bucked again, this time almost throwing Peter off. Peter gave Ray the hand off, giving him the syringe with the small elixir in it.

Peter wrestled around a bit more, holding her down as Ray lifted up Kitty's sleeve, rolling the cotton fabric up passed her elbow, before plunging the syringe in her arm. With a single push, Ray injected the blue liquid into her bloodstream before pulling out the syringe in a dramatic fashion. Kitty still fought, now chopping her pearly whites at Peter. She would have bit anything that she could have – and drawn blood.

The struggle didn't last much longer. They both watched as she got weaker and weaker. Slowly, her eyes started to get heavy and her breathing started to return to normal. Finally, she stopped thrashing, her breathing got back down to normal, and her eyes closed. She looked peaceful, like she was almost sleeping of her own will.

Peter, now exhausted himself, fell backwards, landing somewhere in between the kitchen and the living room; both of which's floors were not that comfortable to lie on. "That's one way to get her to sleep" Peter remarked, panting heavily as he closed his eyes and simply rested. That's what his body needed, rest.

Ray leaned up against the breakfast bar, groaning as he stretched his back, earning more than a few good pops. Closing his eyes for just a moment, he took note to every ache in his body, starting with the back of his head. He rubbed at the base of his skull, almost surprised to realize that it hurt. He mentally slapped himself at his 'realization' before Peter had a chance to.

Angie stirred, moaning as she arched her back. At the simple sound of hearing a woman moan, Peter's eyes shot open as he lifted his head off the ground. Sighing lightly, Angie's eyes fluttered open before she groaned at her new injuries, most of which she remembers weren't there before she passed a sharp intake of air, she groaned as she lifted her head off the ground. She then moved to her elbows, propping herself up before glancing over at the body of her younger sister.

Her blood-red eyes closed, her chest rose and fell with every shallow breath; she looked at ease, almost like the old Kitty, despite the pale flesh and superhuman strength. Still, she was out cold and Angie wasn't even sure what had just happened. The final straw was when she saw the small syringe sitting on the floor, lying next to Kitty and a suspicious hole in her arm.

"What the hell happened to my sister?" Angie shouted, gaining the attention of the two busters. Peter propped himself on his elbows, a hazing look on his features.

"Whatever do you mean?"  
"I mean why is my sister passed out – and where did that syringe come from?"  
"We only did what was necessary. You should be thanking us."  
"'Thank you'?"  
"You're welcome." Peter resorted before lying back down on the floor, a smug smirk on his face as he did. Angie just simply blinked a few times, the words just not sitting right with her.

"You drugged my sister, and you want a thank you?"  
"You do remember that this was the sister that tried to kill you, right?"  
"That wasn't my sister!" Angie argued. "That was-… A monster!"  
"So wait, we druggedyour _sister_, but it was the _monster_ that tried to kill you?-"  
"Why did you even have a syringe on you? Just in case a monster decided to attack?"  
"Maybe!" Peter argued back, sitting up straight this time. "Maybe I thought I could save the damsel from the big bad ghost."  
"You are unbelievable, you know that?"  
"Maybe next time, I WILL let the monster eat you—"

"ENOUGH!" Ray yelled, for what seems like the first time in his life. The two squandering 'children' stopped arguing, turning their attention to Ray, whose headache was not getting any better thanks to these two. If they could get along for five minutes…

"Arguing isn't going to help Kitty." Ray said, his voice returning to calm, methodical,_ normal_ Ray.

Peter started to rub his knee, lightly massaging the tendon, hoping to release some of the tension building up minute by minute. In his mind, he had already booked an appointment at the masseuse over in Chinatown.

Angie pulled her legs into her chest, hugging them as she stared at the unconscious Kitty as she drooled on her shoulder. Silently, Angie cursed the day that they showed up to New York. Packing, driving up here, moving in—she just wanted to take it back and stay in Maryland. Would that have been so hard? Just to go back and pretend this didn't happen.

"You know," Ray started, rubbing the stubble on his cheek as he thought out loud, "We've only just knocked her out. When comes to, she's gonna be the same thing we just dealt with."

"Plus a hangover." Peter added, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The three of them stayed silent, each thinking up their own way to deal with this. The only sound emanating from the kitchen was soft snore from Kitty as the drool on her shoulder started to collect, a small pool beginning to form.

Angie pulled her knees closer and sighed. She didn't want to ask, she knew whatever they had in mind wasn't going to be pleasant, or safe, or even work for that matter. She they were the only hope she had. Angie looked over at Ray, he mashed his lips together as he stared off into the distance, his thoughts somewhere else, away from this current moment.

"Okay," Angie sighed. Peter sat up, once again propping himself on his elbows. Angie looked to Ray for direction as he was pulled from his thoughts. "What are we gonna do?"

"We've still got to get whatever is in your sister, out." Ray explained, looking over at the young possessed girl. This was the first possession they had ever dealt with. Having only read about these things, he never thought he'd actually experience it, and with their first client. For Ray's sake, and the sake of the Ghostbusters, he hoped this would be the last.

It was Angie's turn to mashed her lips together, a lightly bruise started to form under her lips. "What if she wakes up?"  
"Don't worry about that." Peter said, adding the conversation as he sat up straight. "You just leave that to me."

Angie eyed Peter, suspicious of his current mood. From yelling to now helping, he mood swings where gonna make her head spin. Maybe Peter did want to help, truly, deep down in the black hole were his heart should be. Or maybe he just wanted another go at Kitty, finding it a little hard to flirt when she's actively trying to kill you. Regardless, he wanted to help, and if she could get Kitty back in the mean time, that would be fine with her.

Swallowing her pride, and a small bit of bile, she nodded her head. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it.  
~pure

**UPDATED**: October 1st., 2012.  
Fixing grammatical errors.

**UPDATED**: September 3rd., 2012.


	8. The Exorcism of Kitty Reed Part Two

I do NOT own Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Mary Poppin's, or anyother franchise I offhandedly mentioned.

* * *

Ray stayed up, staring intently at the PKE meter in his hand as it stayed at a content three. He slowly stretched out his back, resting against the wall wasn't the greatest idea he'd had all night. The other two were exhausted; Angie from her day at work and the hell on earth she came home to, and Peter just because it was late and he needed 'beauty rest'. Peter had curled himself up in the corner, resting his head on his forearm as he murmured in his sleep. Ray smiled to himself as he looked down at the young woman on his left sleeping on his shoulder, her wild curly brown hair obstructing his view.

Angie was tired to say the least; but she was good sport in the middle of all this, despite her sister currently down for the count. After Peter had passed out, she stayed up and talked with Ray, even offered him something to drink a couple times. He declined, laughing lightly at her attempt to be a kind hostess. She flushed, and turned her head away to hide her childish grin beneath her hand. He found it charming, the way she was embarrassed for him to see her acting so childishly.

As they sat and talked, Ray filled her in on all the little gadgets that they had, even some ideas for some new ones he hadn't got around to yet. Though most of the words went straight over her head, she tried to follow the techno babble, even asking follow-up questions, showing that she was in fact paying attention.

Her eyes seemed to glow when he talked about the paranormal, seeming truly interested in what he was saying, not just waiting for him to get it over with. He had only ever seen that glow in Egon, after talking about new inventions. Normal civilians didn't have that look. It made him curious about why she had the spark in her eyes.

It took some convincing, but he managed to get a story out of her. Sighing deeply, she ran her hands through her hair, her finger tips getting stuck in the curls.

_"Fine."_ She sighed, stiffing her weight before getting comfy. _"When I was younger, I remember going to my grandma's house down in Maryland. Her house was easily two hundred years old, ceiling was falling down, floor boards creaked, the pipes rattled – everything!"_ She paused as she licked her chapped lips.

_"One day, my parents decided it was great day to play outside. They dragged Kitty along – she was just a baby – and they were waiting for me to come outside. Well, I didn't want to go outside, so I was kicking my feet, taking my sweet time. I figured I could listen to the radio while I was putting on my shoes, make my parents sweat a little, you know? So I turn on my grandma's little radio, gets maybe five channels since we're so far out in the country, when the song 'Earth Angel' comes on the radio. You know-.."_ Angie cleared her throat, holding the base of her throat.

"_Earth angel, earth angel,  
will you be mine?  
My darling dear,  
love you all the time."_

She sang lightly, hovering above a whisper. She foolishly caught a glimpse of Ray as he smiled at her, that goofy, charming smile of his that lights up a room. His eyes almost seemed to smile with him as she turned her head away, hiding her crimson flush.

"_An-anyway. So the song starts playing, and I'm all alone in the house, so I start singing like that wonderful little show I did earlier."_ She said, running her long fingertips through her hair once more. _"So, I'm singing this song, when all of a sudden, this hand grabs my shoulder. The first thought in my mind was, 'oh crap, I'm busted', thinking my mom came in to see what was taking me so long. I turn around and no one is there. No one, not a soul. So, naturally, I freak out and run to the bathroom and lock the door." _

Her last words muffed as she tried to censor the laugh escaping from her lips. The memory of a ten year-old Angie running away from a ghost was too much; especially with what she was dealing with tonight. Her hand moved, as if on its own, to her shoulder, her thumb stroking the area where she felt the hand fourteen years ago. She was still able to feel the individual fingers on her skin, even though it had been years since that encounter.

Ray's brows creased, growing even more curious with each passing second. "_Why did you run?"_  
_"Well what do you do when a ghost touches you?"  
"Usually I try to analyze it, see what kind of energy it is, then depending on the aggressiveness—"  
"Forget I said anything." _She said, throwing her hands up in defeat. Silently chastised herself, knowing better than to ask a Ghostbusters that kind of question. He just smiled, shaking his head lightly. _"I'm just saying you probably shouldn't have run. From our studies it takes a lot of energy to manifest – even more to manipulate the physical realm."_

Angie nodded in silence, fearing he was gonna say something like that. She knew she shouldn't have ran, but what else are you gonna do at ten years old? Introduce yourself? Angie made a silent bet with herself that a little ten year-old Ray would have introduced himself.

"_Plus,"_ Ray added, shifting slightly. _"The manifestation didn't seem to harm you. If it could touch you, it also could have harmed you."_  
_"Gee, Ray. Thanks for the nightmares."  
"Not that. I'm just saying that it could have, but didn't. It sounds like it was just trying to get your attention."_ He explained, leaving Angie to feel a little silly.

Angie released a sigh before leaning on the wall behind her, the joints in her back popping back into alignment. Mustering up the courage in the pit of her stomach, she slowly rested her head on Ray's shoulder, sighing contently. It was the most comfortable she'd been all night, resting on his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, even sitting up straighter than before as she closed her eyes for only a second.

It was 3:15 AM.

Ray's face twisted into an abstract movement as he yawned, shaking slightly to wake himself up. With Peter and Angie asleep, someone had to watch Kitty as she drooled on herself. Peter's brilliant idea to restrain the young possession was to tie her to bed.

After severe protests from Angie, they had finally agreed on a way to restrain her in case she came to. Fashionable leather belts wrapped around the bed, linking up with each other to form one long leather chain that wrapped around the mattress - wrapping around Kitty's wrist and ankles as well, holding them in place as she slept. Peter and Angie went back and forth, fighting over how tight the cuffs would be.

Peter would tighten them, claiming that if she woke up, he didn't want her slipping out of them as Angie would go in behind him, loosening them, saying she didn't want to cut off circulation. Several times they tried to bring Ray into the fight, getting him to pick a side between his friend and the client. He just shook his head, turning his attention back to the equipment, leaving the two of them to fight it out.

Angie stirred in her sleep, a small murmur escaped from her lips as she drew closer to him, nuzzling her head at the nape of his neck. It felt good, to have someone so close to him. She trusted him - that was certain. She could definitely hold her own against Peter, and she had the spark in her eyes. It was a deadly combination, having fallen for this similar mixture many times before, only to be crushed.

It was 3:23 AM.

The PKE hit a spike, something that was strange as nothing had changed. Curiously, Ray looked on at the PKE meter; it had jumped from a three to a twenty, whining loudly before settling back down in silence. The small whine from the meter was just enough to wake the young woman on his shoulder, sounding similar to her alarm clock.

Angie groaned, her eyes smashed shut as she stirred, her head still on his shoulder. Against her better judgment, she opened her eyes, hissing loudly at the bright lights from the world around. Ray shook his head as he tried to hold back a laugh at the young woman as she groaned even louder, burying her face into his shoulder. He smells nice, she thought, the current situation far from her mind. _Like aftershave and motor oil. _

Finally brave enough to face the light, Angie lifted her head from Ray's flannel shirt, taking in the sight before her. She sighed loudly, over exaggerating her emotions. This wasn't a dream like she had hoped. Kitty was still drooling on her bare mattress, Peter was still asleep in the corner, and Ray was still here, keeping an eye on everything, his disarming smile greeting her.

"Morning." He said, the cheerful syllables bouncing off his tongue. Angie simply groaned, leaning her head on the white sheetrock behind her.  
"Oh God, you're a morning person, aren't you?" she groaned, rubbing the itchy part of the back of her head. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Ray smile that charming smile. God, that smile was too much.

Peter stirred in his sleep, rolling over on his side - the hard wooden floor not fazing him a bit as he turned over, muttering something about trying to kill gopher.

It was at that time the PKE meter whined again. Drawing Ray's attention once more, he watched with creased brow at the meter, curious as the numbers steadily climbed. Looking over his shoulder, Angie's face drew an expression of worry on her soft features. Knowing only what she'd managed to pick up from talking with Ray - which wasn't saying much - she knew that the high pitched whine of the PKE meter wasn't a good sign.

The numbers continued to climb, reaching higher and higher and not slowing down any time soon. It passed two hundred. Curious, as that was the only way to describe it, Ray stood up, unblinking as he watched the small device climb in numbers. Nothing had changed, he noted, why is all this happened now?

Glancing at his wristwatch, he then noted the time. 3:32 AM. A sheer look of panic washed over him, blood leaving his face as it hit him, suddenly and abruptly it hit him. "Peter!" Ray called out, not taking his eyes away from the PKE meter for a second as it climbed to three hundred. "Peter, get up!"

The young scientist didn't even shift; his only movement was to lick his chapped lips before drifting off to la-la land. Taking matters into her own hands, Angie grabbed the closest thing to her; one of Kitty's poorly written New York Times best sellers. Wrapping her fingers around the spine of the book, her inner bookworm gave a silent prayer before using the novel as ammo, aiming right for Peter.

His body gave an involuntary 'Oof!', as the book hit his abdomen, waking him instantly. Now wide awake, his eyes combed over the room wildly as he clutched his stomach as it riled with the sting of a hardback.

Peter gazed around the room, taking notice of Angie and particularly Ray as he stood over Kitty, waving the PKE meter over her drugged body. The meter whined louder than it ever had before, hitting an octave that Ray didn't know it could. The expression in his eyes said it all, Ray didn't have to say a word – though Peter wished he would.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, regaining some composure after dealing with the literary punch in the stomach by Angie. He turned his gaze to her as she shrugged her shoulders, being almost as clueless as himself. "Well, what good are you?" Peter remarked, earning every second of the dirty glare from Angie.

Suddenly, Kitty began to converse, waking from her dead sleep to now shaking back and forth, writhing in pain. She cried out a supernatural scream; an unnerving, deeper sound then Angie had ever heard from her. Kitty's eyes shot open, the crimson stain remaining as she glanced around the room, wildly inspecting every inch of the room.

Slowly, the three of them made their way over the Kitty's mattress, peering over her as the leather belts worked as an excellent restraint. The three of them stood around the bed, looking on in pity at the young woman on the bed. They gazed at her like an animal at a zoo, as she was currently rocking her body from side to side, humming a tune to herself. Not an animal, _mental patient_.

The only thing holding Kitty back was the belts that Peter had MacGyver-ed together. He'd have to remember to rub this in Angie's face, but right now was not the time, Peter thought, composing himself. Kitty rocked back and forth, swinging her head wildly around, her hair whipping back and forth.

As slow as he could, as to not concern Kitty or the spirit within, Ray moved towards his leather tool bag. He had forgotten about it earlier, being a little bit too excited about seeing Angie and Kitty again; it just slipped his mind!

It took a lot of convincing, and even some expertly timed flirting – done by Angie – to convince Peter to go back to the firehouse to get it. He groaned, stomping his foot like a child in protest to leaving. It only took a single peck on the cheek by Angie to make Peter change his mind, if only for a moment. Ray wondered what it would be like to get a kiss from her, earning a goofy grin on his face.

Silently he scalded himself on it. He shouldn't be thinking this way about Angie, or anyone right now! Currently, there is a spirit trapped in her sisters body, he shouldn't be thinking about what it would feel like to kiss her lips, or if she likes to do the crossword, or maybe even what she looks like in the mornings, her wild hair standing up on end, her deep brown eyes staring back at him from under the sheets – GRAH!

Ray shook the thought from his mind, taking a sharp breath before getting back to the task at hand. The 'task' currently watched him inquisitively. For a moment she stopped rocking, watching him as he pulled out a ghost trap from the beat-up old leather tool bag.

Ray placed it on the floor beside of the bed as it made a hearty 'thump' on the hard wood floor. The neighbors below must be loving this! Something new to bring up at the tenants meeting – possession!

Kitty laughed a deep, gut-wrenchingly strong laugh. She threw her head back, momentarily holding her body up by simply the back of her head as she laughed, knowing that whatever they were planning wasn't going to work. Ever defiant to the status quo, Peter moved his way closer to Kitty, sitting down by her bed side. His confident air returning back to his sleep deprived body as his eyebrow raised, curiosity running in place of adrenalin, or maybe even a mix of the two.

The mattress spring squeaked as he sat down, drawing the attention of the being in charge of Kitty's body. Her head slouched over, making no effort to turn her head as she stared at the man on her bed. Her face was stonewall, her lips drawn to a straight line, her crimson eyes unblinking, almost trying to intimidate him with her lack of response.

Peter's lips on the other hand were just the opposite, curving into an obnoxious smirk, battling the indifference on her face. "Hello." His voice rang out, deep, almost suave as Angie rolled her eyes. She's possessed and he's _still _trying to hit on her.

"Am I talking to Kitty?" He asked. Kitty's grave expression turned to a lively one as she erupted with laughter, again throwing her head back in exaggeration. "_No_." She growled, her voice as deep as earlier. "_Kitty isn't here_."  
"I want to talk to Kitty, where is Kitty?" Peter asked, a touch of frenzy in his voice. Whatever was in Kitty heard it, as it twisted its features into a sick smile, taking pure pleasure from tormenting Peter and the others in the room.

Gnawing at the tip of his thumb, Peter thought out a game plan. They had gotten this far on dumb luck, he wondered how long they could take it. Could they get Kitty out on dumb luck? Could they capture this ghost on dumb luck? Or maybe he was pushing it as it was, and he should just leave it alone?

Kitty giggled, swinging her body weight left to right against the leather restraints as she started to hum again, a foreign tune that none of them had ever heard before no matter how many time they racked their brains. Shifting in his seat, and making the mattress squeak with fatigue, Peter turned to Ray. "What do we do?"

Ray was no help, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn't have an idea on what to do. Though, to his defense, he really did look stumped. He mashed his lips together; thinking back in his head on what could be done. He had had an idea. It was risky, as usual, but what wasn't risky in this business? Sighing deeply, Ray decided to express his great idea.

"Now comes the tricky part—"  
"Good, it's been too easy so far."  
"We've got to get the alpha spirit – the one prominent in Kitty – out. Now, I have an idea, but it'll be little… 'challenging'."  
"Challenging?" Angie asked, prying herself from the back wall to join the conversation. "How?"  
"Well the plan as it stands; it'll get all the spirits out of her body, both Kitty and the alpha. After that it's just finding out which one is Kitty's and which one we need to capture. Then we just put Kitty back in and we should be fine." Ray said, somehow adding cheerfulness to his voice; though he did leave out the truly gruesome parts about if they couldn't get Kitty back. Despite his tasteful censor, Angie didn't look like she liked that plan.

Angie's expression dropped, slowly becoming colder as the blood fell from her face. Her eyes were drawn to floor for some reason, her bet was to hide the apparent tears from her eyes. Getting both spirits out of her body, kicking Kitty out her own body, essentially killing her.

Peter looked back and forth between the two, their expressions matching each other in disappointment. They both stared at the ground, both deep in thought as if another plan would come to them if they just stared at the hardwood floor enough times – that would be sure to fix everything! Peter's sarcasm was only shared with himself, as he sighed heavily. He didn't see a way out of this. It was now or never, the statement being something of a quote of the day.

"I like this plan!" Peter exclaimed. The other two jumped out of their own trains of thought at the sudden outburst of Peter. "I'm excited to be a part of it!" Angie scoffed lightly against her breath, finding it hard for anyone to be enthused about this plan. Peter's head snapped to Angie, locking on target. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. "Ray," Peter called out, earning Ray's full attention. "What do you need us to do?"

"Well, I need someone to set up the proton pack—"  
"Koala, grab the pack." Peter ordered, pointing his index finger at Angie. She took only a moment to think about the name '_koala_', before rushing to Ray's leather tool bag.

"What next?"  
"You can try and draw the other entity out. Maybe if we get that spirit to be present, Kitty will turn dormant and we won't run the risk of capturing Kitty." Ray was surprised; Peter actually took direction and didn't make a remark. It was a high score for him as Peter sat back down on the mattress once more, earning the infernal squeak from the bed springs.

"Hi there, remember me?" Peter remarked as Kitty's head snapped back to him, her eyes squinted so he couldn't see her pupils. Slowly, a disturbing snarl/smirk appeared on her face as she nodded, remembering the cocky scientist very well, but not giving him the satisfaction of a vocal response.

"Good." Peter started, clearing his throat before breaking rule one of possession: Don't talk directly with the entity.

"Now, I know you won't let me talk to Kitty. Why don't you and I chat?" He said, slowly twisting the power around. The ball was in his court, he just had to do what he must to keep it talking. She nodded her head up and down, her nostrils flaring as she continued her un-blinking gaze at Peter.

"So, my name is Peter Venkman. What's yours?" He asked as he reached out to grab Kitty's hand in the restraint. Her skin was cold, freezing to the touch. The initial shock caused Peter to jump back slightly, before finally regaining his composure and holding her cold hand in his.

Angie dug into the leather tool bag, being extra careful as to not damage anything or press any buttons that could end the world. She wasn't exactly sure what she was diving into, but she didn't want to take any chances. Moving item by item, discarding them as they didn't say 'proton pack', or whatever it was supposed to on it, she soon grew frustrated, groaning after every piece of equipment wasn't it.

Noting her struggle, Ray knelt down beside her, resting his open palm on her back. He felt her tremble, shaking from the stress of the situation.

"What's going on?" He asked, his soft tone sounding like a whisper as to not disturb Peter during his session.  
"I-I can't find it." Angie whimpered, sniffing loudly as she held back tears. "It's not in here."  
"Here, let me help." Ray said before diving into the tool bag. He would be the first to admit it, his bag was the Bermuda Triangle of storage facilities.

Things have gone into it for years, but nothing has come out and lived to tell about it. Okay, over exaggeration, but it was close enough seeing as last week he pulled out a ham sandwich that had been in their so long the mold hadn't just colonized, the damn thing had its own space program! - Another extensive and costly exaggeration.

Ray noticed that Angie would take time from searching to wipe something from her face, sniffling as she did before returning to work. It took him longer than he'd like to admit to realize she was crying, trying to hold it together by whatever means necessary. Ray paused in his search, biting his bottom lip before resting his hand on her back, rubbing his thumb along her white cotton shirt.

The simple gesture almost killed her, trying her hardest to stay up straight. She turned to him, her eyes red and puffy from crying silently. Though her eyes red with the string of tears she smiled at him, her humble lips turning softly upward. "She'll be okay." Ray whispered, his callused hands running along her spine. With sad eyes, she nodded hoping for all of their sakes that he was right.

He removed his hand and his warmth halfheartedly, turning back to the task at hand: finding the miniature proton pack. Digging around passed the motherboards and wires, his fingertips traced around a sharp corner. An infectious smile broke out on his face as he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled it out of the tool bag, the stripped down proton pack exposed in the light. It was much smaller than they looked on TV, Angie noted, looking over every detail of the box.

The metal box was the size of a shoebox, wild coils sprang from its hard drive, different electrodes hanging off the side haphazardly as a single switched turned it on. Angie wasn't completely sure what it did, but it looked fucking cool.

Ray noticed Angie's eyes widen, earning the exact response he thought it might get. Not only was it strange looking, but it worked. It was the soul of the proton packs, the thing that made them work in the first place - a proton collider if you will, only smaller scale. It was the nerve center of a broken proton pack, thanks to Peter and his will to impress everyone. Luckily it was broken, working at only half the power; it was perfect for this kind of intimate busting. However, it was unlikely that this would ever be used again.

Turning back to Peter and 'Kitty', the two of them walked to stripped proton pack over to the edge of the bed. Slowly, Ray started to place the different sized electrodes on Kitty's size, starting with the biggest one that goes on the inner right forearm. As soon as the sticky, glue like substance hit her cold flesh, her eyes bugged out of her head, turning to the scientist besides her.

She was now conscious of Ray and what he was doing, putting the plastic patches on her skin. Peter tried to get her to talk to him again, but it was of little use. Her new fascination was with Ray and the electrodes on her skin.

Ray moved swiftly from one patch to another, having Angie as a bit of an assistant, handing him the different electrodes to attach to Kitty's body. She didn't mind it, however he grew increasingly cautious as Kitty's demeanor changed from aggressive to pleasant – even lifting her head so Ray could put the electrode on her neck. Muttering a confused thank you, Ray shrugged his shoulders at Angie as he grew ever more worried; a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach agreed with him.

Swallowing deeply, Ray licked his lips, fighting the internal battle with his conscience. "Okay," Ray murmured, turning around to face Angie before he inadvertently killed her sister. He just needed to see her, before the shit really hit the fan. According to all the previous studies, up until now should have been a cake walk. He needed to know that she was still there, for reasons he didn't quite understand.

Angie sat back on her knees, looking on with worried eyes as she covered her lips. Noticing the scientist gaze, she dropped her hand to her lap before smiling at him. In all of this, she still had trust in him; something he wished he had in himself right now.

"Okay," Ray breathed, smiling at Angie. In a whiff of excitement, Ray turned back to Peter, with a new found determination.  
"Now I'm going to turn on the proton pack. Do not touch her skin, or you'll complete the circuit. Got it?" Peter nodded, slowly putting Kitty's hand back over her chest. She didn't seem to notice, her eyes still blissful to the sight of Ray, even as he proceeded to flip the lever on the proton pack.

The proton pack buzzed, vibrating lightly on the hard wooden floor beneath. Kitty's gaze never left, the atoms in her body not even reacting with the powerful charge of the proton pack. Peter looked around the room, bouncing from Angie, to Ray, to Kitty, and then back to Ray; curiously gauging their expressions. Ray looked dumbfounded, waiting in anticipation for something – anything to change in her behavior or physical appearance. He was defeated when he noticed nothing changing.

Silently, Kitty began to rock back and forth, tugging on the leather restraints around her wrists. Pulling her attention from Ray, she began to smile, almost enjoying the volts of energy coursing through her body. Angie looked on in horror, the scene like something out of _the Exorcist_. Vaguely she remembered Kitty not wanting to watch that movie because it was too scary; if only she could see herself now.

Ray had a firm grasp on the proton box, holding on to it intensively as her slowly turned a small dial on the side, the numbers one through ten crudely painted on to its metallic side. It clicked as he ramped up the energy, starting at one and working his way up, judging her on how well she was dealing with this. He continued to dial up the power, the dial itself clicking with every notch, a look of extreme worry plastered over his face as he hit level five. Kitty didn't pay any mind, giggling as if the proton pack was just tickling her, despite the immense amount of energy pulsating through her body.

He was about to give up, the dial now pushing it at level seven, before Kitty howled, her eyes clamped shut as she arched her back, all-but levitating off the mattress as the only things holding her down were Peter's makeshift restraints. It was disturbing, or incredible, depending on which person you'd asked. Ray's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas, his invention working out great, despite the screeches of agony coming from the recipient.

Flopping back down on the mattress in a vulgar fashion, Kitty started to pant heavily, tossing her head from side to side as if battling something deep within her. Growling at each turn on the head, the grunts became less animal-like and more human, before fully becoming human once more. Kitty gritted her teeth; through her exposed teeth they heard the soft voice of a female, desperately trying to be free.

"_Angie."_ She cried, sobbing her way through the pain of the proton pack.

Angie's brows furrowed, growing increasing worried about her sister, despite her trust in Ray and Venkman. She couldn't help it; watching the young woman trapped inside her body with some demonic entity. While Kitty was earning some sympathy from Angie was also earning leverage as she snaked her hand out of the wrist restraint.

With a potentially fatal swoop, Kitty's demonic claws hit Peter in the side of the face, scratching three large etches into his skin. Peter fell back, grabbing at his disfigurement as he landing on his ass. He his eyes widened in shock, momentarily stunned at her actions, but even more so by Angie's 'flawless' thinking.

Without hesitation, the older of the two jumped into the bed, straddling the demented sister. Growling and gnawing at Angie wrists, Kitty thrashed around on the bed, the extra weight on her stomach stopping her from being truly free.

Angie leaned over the side of the bed, watching carefully as to not put any skin near Kitty, as she grabbed one of Kitty's long white cotton shirts. In a flash, Angie wrapped the long sleeves around Kitty's wrist, careful not to physically touch her skin with Kitty's, the omnipresent hum of the charged proton pack a constant reminder.

Kitty snarled and almost barked as she tried everything in her power to toss Angie off of her, now chomping her pearly whites at any piece of flesh that passed by her face. Wildly she thrashed, making it hard for Angie to keep control over her as she bounced around.

Peter recovered, quicker he normally would. He usually would try to milk the injury for some sympathy, but today was not the day. Besides, who would he get sympathy from? Ray?

Sitting up once more, he grabbed onto the shirt that Angie had wrapped around Kitty's wrist and tied it tightly to the headboard. With an extra tug for goo measure, Peter turned as Ray turned up the proton packs power.

The dial clicked in session as he dialed up the power from level seven to level ten, skipping every level in between. Kitty roared back in pain, screaming out into the night and infernal scream, waking the creatures of the night and the neighbors down the hall. Arching her back, she started to lift herself off the bed once more. Angie's eyes grew as she watched her sister react in such a horrendous way.

Kitty's eyes snapped open, her crimson red eyes peering into Angie's normal brown ones. _"You will pay for this."_ A supernatural growl exited Kitty's lips, using the last of its energy to muster those parting words. The words, no matter how empty the threat, sent chills down her spine.

Bending her neck back, Kitty's mouth opened wide as she screamed once more. The three of them flinched, even grabbing at their ears as the unearthly screech echoed throughout the apartment. Her chest began to convulse, acting as if it was choking on something. The three of them watched in amazement, Ray more than anyone else, as the sight was truly something to behold.

Exiting out of Kitty's open mouth, the convulsing and choking came to a halt as a rather large vapor exited. It looked like a storm cloud, dark and rumbling as it manifested over Kitty's body. Angie could have sworn she saw a small flash of lighting from inside its cloud like appearance.

It wisped off at the edges, giving it an otherworldly appearance. Ray's eyes widened with pure joy as a child's eyes might as they all noticed the spherical vaporous phantasm; a class six in the Spirit Guide, if Ray remembered correctly.

Peter didn't blink. He almost didn't think he could if he wanted to. Though working with this stuff all the time, it never ceased to amaze him the different thing you'll see on this job. Ray seemed ecstatic, the way only Ray can, with a childlike enthusiasm that has yet to have been matched. However, Miss Reed didn't look as enthused. A small hand placed over her features, Angie looked on in horror as tears edged the bottom of her eyes, waiting to drop at a moment's notice.

Peering back at the spook, still unblinking, Peter looked on in wonder. Not like Ray, who was silently creating hypotheses about what happens to us after we die – no, he was wondering about the next step in Ray's 'brilliant' plan. We got the ghost out, now what?

Before asking Ray about the plan, pulling him from his wonderland like visions, another phantom entered the area. This one was significantly smaller, about the size a cue ball. This one acted like smoke, hazy and it glowed with a mystic orange radiance. It had exited from the center of the blue darkness of the other one, pulsating with a bizarre frequency of differing light, growing larger before shrinking back down again - almost like it was panting.

Kitty's body had returned to normal – well, at least functioning, her soft breath like a whisper as her chest rose and fell with each breath, no longer struggling against the leather belt-restraints.

The three of them watched, not exactly sure what to do to at this moment. Neither of the scientists had done this before, personally surprised they got this far on sheer dumb luck. Angie was at a loss, all of this science/magic mumbo jumbo flying right over her head.

The two vapors paused, hovering in the middle of the room, leaving everyone with baited breath. The room was silent, the only ambiance noise being the proton pack, now pulsating energy throughout an unconscious body. Even the noises on the street seemed to die down in the wake of this commotion.

Bending at the knees, Ray slowly lowered himself back down to the floor level, reaching into his Mary-Poppin's - like bag. His brown eyes never left the paranormal light show before them as he fumbled around the in the leather bag, searching for a single thing in particular. His callused fingers traced over the outline of a small metal box, similar in size to the stripped proton pack. An ingenuous grin appeared on his face as he grabbed the box, pulling out the small ghost trap from inside.

The small black box had been decked out, adding what Peter would say were 'racing stripes' to the side. He pulled on the cord to the ghost trap, clumsily fumbling with the cord and remote control device as it was wrapped around who-knows-what.

Finally freeing the ghost trap in all its glory, Ray crouched down and pushed the trap beneath the two apparitions. The tiny plastic wheels beneath the bulk of the device rolled it into position, under the unsuspecting vapors.

The monstrous dark blue vapor rumbled, another flash of what might have been lightening erupted in its bowels as it started to turn up, almost provoking itself. Growing larger, it moved over to the small, defenseless orange mist. The orange shrunk up, hiding within itself before the dark blue vapor collided with it, engulfing the orange within.

More rumbling as the darker one was winning, a deep cackle escaped from its mist. It seemed to struggle, whatever was inside wanting to get out, as the orange mist popped out from the darkness, regaining its independence from the blob. Angie had to silence a cheer as the orange vapor appeared again, taking a moment to breathe, it seemed like.

Ray bit the inside of his cheek, debating with himself on what to do. If he used to trap now, he could capture the Alpha spirit, but also capture Kitty as well. If he didn't use the trap and let the two vapors fight it out, then who knows what could happen? Kitty's spirit might lose dominance forever and be the nocturnal, demonic dog spirit for the rest of her natural life, subject to mental hospitals and different set from rainbow pills every day. He was gonna have to do something, and no matter what he chose, someone wasn't going to be happy.

Taking matters into his own hands, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with faux-courage. It was now or never. "Angie, Venkman!" He shouted, taking direct control of the situation.  
"I'm gonna open the trap. Under no circumstances do you look at the trap, got it?" The warning more for Angie than Venkman. She nodded her head though, tearing her eyes away from the supernatural spectacle before her.

Ray turned away to, knowing for than anything, the trap just really hurt your eyes. With one hand on the control, he slammed the button down with his other hand, flinching in anticipation of the traps brilliant light. The trap opened, a bright white light illuminated from inside the box as the box whizzed a loud whine in the stale early morning air.

Angie clung to her sister, crying out her name as she held on to her shoulders. She covered her body with her own, shielding it from the radiant light of the ghost trap. Angie cried out for Kitty once more, hoping more than anything she'd wake up in all this commotion, her heart dropping when she didn't.

The two vapors began the whine loudly as they were being pulled by the ghost trap, slowly being sucked in. Both of them, the monstrous blue one and the dainty orange one didn't stand a chance against the power of the trap. The darker one screamed, the same demonic voice that Kitty had been talking with for several days now, the same that Peter interviewed and tried to attack him. The same they heard in the kitchen as she tried to kill Angie.

It screamed, the bizarre scream sure to wake the neighbors as it began to get higher pitched as it got closer to the trap its self. The orange one however, silent, almost accepting it's faint without so much as a whimper.

As fast as it had happened, it stopped. Ray pushed the button on the remote control device, closing the trap and locking whatever the hell was in there for good. Silence stung the air around them, painfully ringing their eardrums as nothing was said.

The apartment was silent once more - a eerie silence, when you know you should hear something, anything, even the ambient noise from the city but instead you hear nothing. No sounds from people talking, no sounds of cars on the street below, not even the sound of a car horn outside the window.

Venkman and Ray looked to each other a simple look of disbelief on their faces. They both slowly walked over to the trap, the old wooden floor boards creaking below their feet as the stopped at the smoking trap. Venkman crouched down, earning a closer look at the trap as it zapped across the metal exterior.

Something was in there, he determined, noting the reaction when Ray nudged the trap with his boot. At this point it would be hard to see what exactly was in there. Silently, Peter prayed to whoever was listening that it wasn't Kitty.

Kitty!

Peter spun around on the balls of his foot, still crouched down in a kneeling position as he looked over to Angie, clinging to her sister's body. Kitty didn't make a sound, as Angie was making enough for both of them. She howled, sobbing into Kitty's neck, the collar Kitty's shirt now wet with the mix of drool, sweat and tears.

Her attempts to keep quiet, to stay strong in front of the guys grew futile, as her body shook with every sob. Kitty's body still breathed, slow and faint as it was, her body was still alive. However, she showed no signs of reacting to Angie's sobs, or the discomfort of someone lying on top of her as Angie had.

Ray ran his head through his hair, biting the bottom lip that had received so much abuse over the years before making his way over to the edge of the mattress. The mattress springs moaned loudly as he sat down besides Angie and Kitty, though neither of them noticing. With his brown eyes downcast, he placed a hand on Angie's back, rubbing up and down her spine as she sobbed into Kitty's neckline.

Sighing deeply, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Angie, and even more intense than sorry, he felt guilty. This never should have happened. If they had just caught it earlier instead of writing them both of as crazy, then this would have never happened. He could see the coroner report now, 'Death by Ghostbuster'. The newspapers would have a field day, as if they hadn't already, and that would be the end of Ghostbusters. No more chasing ghosts, no more late night runs, and no more Angie. She'd never want to see the man that inadvertently killed her sister, and honestly, he couldn't blame her.

Angie lifted herself from Kitty's body, sniffing back any new tears before they fell. Looking over her sister's body, she almost couldn't hold herself together. Kitty's skin returned to normal, a pink rosy color on her freckled cheeks, her breathing returning to normal besides the thick, dog like panting. Though, she did notice the cruel way in which they tied her up, the assorted belts and single white shirt wrapping around her hands. It was brutal, inhumane, and wrong; she hated herself.

The new batch of tears she tried so hard to fight back fell, running down the track that the pre-successors made. In a soft jerking motion, she began to cry again. But instead of falling forward, landing on Kitty once more, Ray sat up beside her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as she broke down. She didn't try to hide it anymore, she couldn't! How could she hide something like her crying from the man whose arms embraced her fully? It was no use, she told herself, excusing her usual independent, nothing-fazes-me attitude. Ray tried to calm her, continued to rub down her back as she sobbed into his chest.

The calming embrace, the soft caress only slowed the production of tears from a full jerking motion to a light sob, Ray doing he's best to keep it together himself. He peered down at Kitty, her chest rising and falling with each breath as she stirred in her sleep.

Ray shook his head, confusion setting in on his features as he replied the memory. No, Kitty did not just stir in her sleep, she couldn't have. It was just his imagination, he thought, debunking the phenomenon. Angie snuggled closer to him, wrapping her long arms around his chest. If he wasn't so preoccupied with wither or not Kitty moved, he would have turned different shades of red. He could already feel his core temperature heating up just being near Angie.

Kitty moaned, arching her back as took a deep breath, waking from her deep sleep. Stretching her limbs out much like her namesake, she groaned loudly, enough for everyone in the room to hear her, turning their gaze from whatever occupied their minds to the seemingly undead woman. Ray relaxed his grip, loosely holding the young Angie as she turned her head, looking at her sister as she blinked her eyes open, taking in the world around her.

Kitty peered around the room, taking in the sight before her. Her completely trashed room, complete with peeling wallpaper, destroyed books and her movie posters torn down, the glass protecting them broken on the floor. Clothes hanging from the ceiling fan as it whizzed around the room at a low speed, the few book in the house that weren't Angie's thrown about the room.

Feeling a severe pressure around her wrists and ankles, she looked at her own body as she noted the makeshift restraints, her eyes about to bug out of her head. Finally, she took inventory of the people in the room. Dr. Venkman was kneeling on the floor next to the ghost trap she'd seen on TV, he's mouth agape in disbelieve as he covered his exposed mouth. Angie and on the other hand were a different story.

Angie had Kitty straddled, one leg on each side of her as she leaned over to Ray sitting beside the bed. Her arms wrapped tightly around Ray's chest, he's own hands had fallen to around Angie's hips as Kitty blinked a few time

Taking in the 'scenery', she cleared her throat, taking the time once more to look around the room before saying her first real words in a week:

"What did I miss?"

* * *

Peter Venkman just doesn't know how to pack things properly, Ray theorized as Venkman 'helped' put the equipment away. They hadn't used much, just the stripped proton pack and the ghost trap, but you can't have the two in the same compartment when a ghost is in the ghost trap; it fucks things up. That was Peter's general consensus anyway; Ray used a bunch of fancy words, but that was the essence of his big speech. 'It fucks shit up.'

After his big, techno babble speech, to which the words went in one ear and out the other, Ray was silent, keeping his head down as he worked to pack everything properly and then re-pack what Peter packed. His thoughts were beside him, out of the current situation – which was a good thing, he lied to himself.

It was good that Kitty and Angie didn't need them anymore. He didn't have to obsess over this case anymore, finally resting in peace, earning a night of restful sleep after the week and a half from hell. Though, it did make him sad that he wasn't going to see Angie again, that he couldn't make her smile without trying to, that he couldn't see that spark in her eyes just one more time.

Peter, keeping himself busy by snooping through Angie's extensive bookshelf, took notice of his friend's state. Ray had never been the kind of person to internalize his feelings; everything that he was feeling you could read on his face. Putting down Angie's warn and dated copy of '_the Great Gatsby'_, Peter rubbed the stubble of his chin, exaggerating the length of his stubble, pulling on his imaginary beard. "You know," Peter started, sauntering his way over to the depressed lover boy. "We could just let the little creep go, and you get to save her again!"

A ghost of smile appeared on Ray's lips, shaking his head lightly at what Ray had sincerely hoped was a joke. As if the little creep heard that they were talking about him, the ghost trap jumped, dancing along the floor it growled at the two.

Peter pointed an index finger at the ghost box as it danced across the floor, "It that supposed to happen?" Peter asked. Ray didn't say a word, not even a sigh as he shook his head solemnly. Neither of them had seen that happen before, no spirit had been powerful enough shake the ghost trap; much less growl from it so that it was audible to human ears. Ray ran his fingertips through his hair, his mind reeling with how powerful this spirit truly was.

With a click from the doorknob, the door to Kitty's bedroom open and closed quickly as Angie exited, her lips curled into a contagious smile. Strolling out of Kitty's bedroom, her smile fell as she as she saw to the two Ghostbusters standing near the door, almost ready to leave.

Peter took action, leaning down and grabbing the dancing ghost trap before Angie had enough time to worry about it. It didn't look professional, not knowing what exactly you were doing. However, Peter took, shoving the ghost trap in his jacket as it vibrated against his chest, sometimes you've just gotta fake it.

"Kitty's asleep now." Angie stated. "She said she might be able to get a full nights rest with that _thing_ gone." Ray smiled, knowing in some part of his heart she was going to be better off without having to call them. Peter started to jump around, the ghost trap next his sternum toying with him zapping him as a low cackle erupted from the box. Peter had the think of something.

"I uhh – gotta go!" Venkman excused himself, making his way out into the hallway, closing the door with a satisfying click as he made his way to the stairwell. The ghost trap was having its own fun, zapping Peter whenever the hell it felt like. Oh, he was gonna be glad to put this little shit away.

It was just Ray and Angie.

He stammered with his words, for the first time since arriving, he was feeling awkward and nervous around Angie again, like the day they first showed up in the firehouse. He looked down at his shoes, noticing the little details in his work boots he hadn't before. He didn't want to leave- it was the long and the short of it. He was happy that they didn't need them anymore, but a part of him still wished that they did. The other part wanted to let the little creep free like Peter had suggested.

"Don't I owe you guys something?" Angie said, pulling Ray from his mental rant. "You guys live off commission, right?" He laughed slightly, nodding to himself. Though she was joking, she was right. He had to charge her somehow, even if he didn't want to.

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, trying to think of a number that would work. Peter would have her pay five thousand, standard rate, plus whatever he thought about in interest, as the case took so long to solve. Looking around the apartment, there was no way they could have paid it but Angie looked determined to get a number from him.

Stammering with his words once more, he sighed loudly, clearing his head before he said the words that would make Venkman cringe if he was standing here. "I can't charge you for this."  
"What?" Angie said, genuinely surprised that he didn't just pick a number.  
"I can't charge you for this. It wouldn't be fair."  
"Fair for who?"  
"We should have caught it earlier—"  
"But you caught it now!" Angie exclaimed, quieting herself from a screaming match over payment. With a deep breath, she tried to talk calmly and rationally, something that was an entirely new concept for her. "If you guys, heaven forbid, ever go out of business, I'm gonna feel guilty thinking my couple thousand would have saved you." Ray couldn't help but laugh, not at her but to what she was saying and how ridiculous it sounded.  
"Don't worry about it." Ray said, following her lead of being calm and rational. "I don't see that happening anytime soon – and if it does, it'll be because of more than a couple thousand, believe me."

She couldn't fight with that logic. If they were to go out of business, it would be because of a big, stupid gesture – and they're just the guys to do it. Angie smiled to herself, imagining all the ways that the Ghostbusters would most likely go down in flames, none of which having to do with a couple thousand missing. Still, it's a couple thousand that she still owed.  
"I still don't feel right," She confessed, rubbing the side of her arm. "I still owe you."

"Don't worry about it." He said, almost waving her off. There was however one thing that Ray would like, in exchange for getting rid of the ghost, but she'd never go for it. Turning around slightly, he opened the door with his free hand, the other currently around the leather tool bag holding absolutely everything under the sun.

He walked backwards into the 50's designed hallway, careful of his footing as to not wake the neighbors the excessive banging. After the early morning that they had, it's was sure to be a tough work day ahead.

Angie followed him out, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorjamb. Sighing softly, she was able to let go of some stress, the last bit of the weight on her should lifted, disappearing thanks to the boys in grey.

A sweet smile spread across her features as she rested their in the hallway for only a moment, content with the world around her. Ray couldn't help but smile at the sight, beautiful brunette curls wildly framing her delicate face, her face on of peace and serenity. Opening her eyes to him, her smile grew, spreading around her rosy cheeks.

He debated long and hard, thinking about his next move carefully. He didn't want to sound like a totally creep, but he also didn't want to lose her. Watching her now, content, serene, he knew he didn't want to lose her; his hands started to sweat under the pressure. He started to 'go through' what he might say, planning it out before actually saying it, so he didn't stumble over his words. Earlier he wasn't nervous, when he was talking about the paranormal field he wasn't nervous, why was he nervous now?

Practicing his 'lines' once more, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with faux-confidence. "Would-you-like-to-go-out-with-me?" He asked, all of the words rushing out all at once, sounding like an auctioneer. _'That's not what I wanted to say!'_ Ray thought, silently panicking. Angie's brows creased, pulling her from her thoughts of serenity.  
"What?"  
"I uh…" He stumbled, exactly what he didn't want to do. Sighing, he figured he should just spit it out.  
"I was just wondering if you'd like to go out for coffee or dinner I—" He stopped, watching slowly as smile appeared on Angie's face, even sweeter than he could have ever imagined. Covering her sweet smile, she moved her hand over her mouth as she nodded. "I'd like that."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah."  
"That's great!" Ray exclaimed before piping back down, forgetting about the neighbors in the hallway. Peering down at his watch for a moment, he noted that most people would be getting up for work about now. Well, he would be if he wasn't so tired from this case. Angie giggled, a sweet little giggle at Ray's expense. He was fine with it though, wishing he could hear it all this time.

"How about tomorrow?" Ray asked, suddenly feeling like he was coming on a little strong. "After work I mean." She nodded her head, her curls bouncing around her face. "Sounds great!" She said, moving a rouge curl from out of her face and behind her ear. "There's this coffee house down the street from the Firehouse, I hadn't been but a lot of people say its great."

"Sounds perfect." Ray said, his voice a little above a whisper. Since when did he actually talk to and make plans with girls? It was so out of character, that he almost couldn't believe it. Peter, sure, he's great with woman – but Ray?! That surprised even himself.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Ray stumbled on the words, walking backward towards the stair-well, passed the elevator that caused such a sour taste in his and Venkman's mouth. With one last blast of courage, he stopped in place, being only about half way down the hall at this point.

"Goodnight Miss Reed."

Angie broke out in a grin, loving the formal use of her name. It seemed like a gentlemanly thing to do, like opening doors. Her teeth clamped softly on her bottom lip, suddenly nervous of everything she was doing: leaning against the doorway, how terrible her hair must look, and the puffiness in her eyes. But one look at Ray, whose smile could seriously light a room, and all that went away.

"Goodnight, Dr. Stantz." She replied, earning a flash of a grin from Ray, who suddenly got very nervous. Rubbing his hand through his messy hair, he started to turn a new shade of red before excusing himself with a silent wave to Angie before making his way down the hall, feeling as if his insides were gonna explode.

He almost walked on air as he made his way to the stairwell, clambering down the wooden stair case as he heard Venkman's voice echoing up the empty shaft, cursing at the ghost trap.

Venkman could say what he wanted to, make fun of him, make fun of Angie, and say he didn't support it - it didn't matter. Ray was going on a date with a beautiful woman, who was genuinely interested in him. Luckily, Venkman didn't ask any questions, to preoccupied with the ghost trap currently zapping under his shirt, scorching the light chest hairs he'd tried to grow since high school.

Venkman made some joke, squirming around before they exited the building, the cold New York air hitting them like a brick wall. Ray zipped up his jacket, pulling the collar close to his neck to keep the heat in.

The wind was furious this morning; blowing passed them like a hurricane as the sun barely peeked through passed the tall skyscrapers. Everywhere stores were opening, different people were living their cozy apartments to brave the cold November air, and even the Ghostbusters were on their way, looking forward to a nice warm bed and at least eight hours of rest. Ray smiled to himself, ignoring the rant from Peter beside him as the two scientists made their way towards the firehouse, one with a ghost in a box and the other a date on the mind.

* * *

UPDATED: October 1st, 2012

Fixed some grammatical errors.

UPDATED: September 12th, 2012.

IT'S OVER 9000!  
The end result of this chapter was 9,999 words.  
I had a battle with my OCD to add one more word, but it lost.  
I'm not sure if Ray is completely out of character, asking Angie out, but you'll tell me right?.

I hope you enjoyed it!  
~Pure


	9. Picking up the Pieces

I do not own Ghost Busters.  
I own Katherine and Angela Reed. That is all.

* * *

Peter was exhausted. The previous nights were pure torture, visiting every ghost this side of the Hudson River, comforting skitzos that swore they saw their husbands' ghost. More often than not, there wasn't even a ghost to catch; the house made an eerie creak, or a door would close because the apartment was slanted.

Sometimes there would be a ghost and they would have to go through the whole shebang: zap 'em, cap 'em, trap 'em. After finishing up, they would pack up and head to the next place, crossing out the previous house on the ever-growing list Janine gave them every morning.

Peter drove the Ecto-1 back to the firehouse, the brakes squeaked as he put the car in park and turned off the ignition. Climbing out of the old hearse, Peter tilted his head side to side, earning two loud pops from his neck. Ray rubbed the back of his neck as he emerged from the Ecto-1, trying to soothe the beginnings of a headache.

"Man, I'm getting old." Peter remarked, referencing the pops his joints were making. Stumbling slightly, he made his way to Janine's desk, peering over the tall stack of papers to see the short-redheaded woman, talking on the phone, the receiver pressed against her ear.

"No, ma'am, we do not do exorcisms. – No, you're looking for a priest. – Yes ma'am, I would call your church, see if they might be able to recommend anyone. Okay? Alright, bye-bye." She hung up the phone as she sighed deeply.

"How's it going?" Peter asked in passing, earning a glare from Janine from behind her thick rimmed glasses. Peter raised his hand in surrender, "Forget I said anything." He added before tip-toeing passed her desk towards his own office.

"Where is Egon?" Ray asked, even though he knew where the scientist was. Janine only confirmed his suspicions as she pointed towards the ground, more importantly the basement. He nodded solemnly as he pulled a half-empty pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket, above the red words "STANTZ". Ray started towards the basement; he put a cigarette between his lips as Janine answered the constantly ringing phone "Ghostbustas?"

Ray seemed to almost bounce down the stairs with a goofy smile on his face. He had been like this all day in anticipation for this afternoon. Barely even paying attention while trying to catch three class fours, he almost leveled an entire house in Brooklyn - Peter's words. Somehow, Peter convinced the owners that home owners insurance would cover the damage by simply claiming that they had some wire problems. _"Will that work?"_ The husband looked to Peter, the slightest glint of hope in his eyes. Peter smirked before wrapping his arm around the tired husband before telling him _"it's gotta work better than the truth."_

Egon was busy running maintenance for the day. Having sent Winston home after a full morning of training, Egon needed something to occupy his mind, puzzles did that for him and nothing was quiet as big as this puzzle before him. Having stared at the same numbers for a record of five times, Egon rubbed his temple, questioning original his hypothesis on the Psychokinetic Energy readings for the day.

He had been almost obsessed with the readings over the past couple days, checking every day of any flux's or drops in psychokinetic activity. After scaring the new guy, almost losing him with his Twinkie analogy, he stayed quiet about his findings, hoping in silence that the numbers would go down, or at least change.

"How's the containment grid holding up?" Ray asked, walking over to the containment unit, glancing at the different gauges. Egon hummed lightly, staring intently at the numbers on his clipboard, trying to make sense of it.

"Interesting. The readings seem to have stalled out over the past couple days. I'll have to look into it later." Egon stated, finally looking up from the ivory paper. This job, the hours, the headaches, all prevalent on his face as new worry wrinkles showed up daily, bags had gathered under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his joints seemed to hurt, a new symptom for him.

Ray mashed his lips together, thinking in head the best course of action. He knew he needed to stay and help with the unit, if it was malfunctioning they needed to fix it. Though, he silently hoped Egon could handle it himself. "If you want," Ray sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "I could stay this afternoon and help with the calibrations."

"No, it seems stable for now." Egon said, rubbing his forehead. Ray let out a sigh he didn't realize he had been holding. "I've just got to find out what's causing this all of sudden." Egon thought out loud, to no one in particular. Sometimes it's just good to hear an idea outside of your head, Egon theorized.

"Besides, if I need help I could always ask Peter." Egon thought about his words for a moment, playing that idea out in his head before scratching the back of his head. "Maybe I'll call Winston."

Ray laughed slightly before the object of their conversation sauntered down the staircase, his shoes clicking on the staircase with a certain rhythm to it. He reached the bottom of the staircase, a sneaky grin spread across his face. "Hey—" His cheerful demeanor changed when he saw Ray looking over the unit, still in his jumpsuit and with a cigarette hung from his lips. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean? Ray asked, confused by Peter's random statement.

"You're going to meet Angie in thirty minutes and you're still in that uniform." Peter stated, pointing to his attire. That was no way to go met a girl. "I know it's been a while since you've gone out on a date," Peter suggested, earning a glare from Ray. "But things have changed; it's the nineteen eighties, girls don't really dig the guy-in-uniform look anymore."

Ray was going to resort, but was cut off by Peter wrapping his arm around Ray's shoulders, leading him towards the staircase. "Now, get upstairs, get a shower, put on some clean clothes; you've got to let Angie see the side of you she hasn't already." Peter instructed as Ray made mental notes.

Peter was right; it had been a while since he'd been on a date. The last date he went on left a sour taste in his mouth after the girl couldn't even tell what state they were in. He almost swore off dating all together, becoming the lonely, scientist types. That would have been great; some of the most brilliant minds were alone. He was almost content with that, before Angie and her sister walked into the firehouse. Now he was nervous, and fearing that he was gonna screw up something as basic as coffee – but it's not like the dating world could change drastically over night, right?

"I don't want to see you back in this basement until you're back from your date." Peter warned, waving his finger in front of Ray's face for emphasis. Ray smiled briefly before climbing the concrete stairs to the main floor, silently trying to figure out how Peter just tricked him into leaving the basement.

Setting his sights on the weary scientist in the corner, Peter's eyebrow raised towards the heavens as an idea formed in his head. Sneaking his way over, like a snake stalking its prey, Peter sat on the desk in the middle of the room, kicking his feet like a child, as Egon simply worked, jotting down notes on his clipboard.

Egon ignored him, keeping his head down as he concentrated on his work.

A sly smirk waved over Peter's face as he had an idea. After the years of working with Peter, Egon had learned that Peter's smirks were never a good sign. Usually a sign of trouble ahead, Egon tended to stay out of it.

"So Eggy," Peter started, Egon flinched slightly as Peter decided to use his least favorite nickname. "How about when you're done playing with your toys, you buy a slice over on the East Side?"

Egon looked away from his clipboard to stare at Peter, one eye brow raised high above Egon's round glasses as he shook his head, silent as the grave as he got back to work.

Peter pouted slightly, "Always works with Ray." Peter whined before kicking his feet once more, the tips of his sneakers hitting the ground with a certain rhythm to a song that had been stuck in Peter's head all day.

Egon shook his head as he listed all the things still left to do in the day: he had to make adjustments to a proton pack that was acting up, the over-heating mechanism was stuck closed, it was over-heating faster than normal. Then there was the plan for the new trap for the Ecto-1, if and when they got into some heavy paranormal disturbances, they'd be ready. Finally, Egon still had to clean the traps from the previous night as Kitty and Angie Reed's apartment.

Ray had filled him in on the case as soon as they got home. Ray was in some sort of hyperactive state as he told Egon about the discoveries at the Reed apartment. Peter on the other hand simply wanted sleep, as he said goodbye to the world and passed out on his bed. Excited to the point he almost couldn't stand it, Ray told Egon about the experiment with the weaker proton pack, and how it had worked better than he ever could have hoped, only fighting with one small hiccup.

Granted, this idea wasn't something they could use in the field, but it was great to know that this technology exists and that it's at an arm's reach if they needed it again for an intimate case like this.

The sound of clicking shoes filled the silent basement as Ray bounced down the staircase before meeting Angie. Reaching the bottom step, Ray looked to the unit as Egon was still taking readings. Peter, pulled from his own thoughts suddenly snapped to reality as a loud whistle escaped Peter's lips. "Lookin' snazzy there, Ray."

"You don't think it's too…" Ray searched for the words as he looked over his choice in clothes. A dark blue button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up his forearms, tucked into a pair of khaki pants.

"No, it's not _'too'_." Peter assured. "You cleaned up nicely. Your mother and I are so proud."

Ray rolled his eyes as Peter, as he turned to go back up the stairs. "I'll see you later this evening."

Peter's smirk returned as bolted to the bottom of the stairs, "I want you back here before midnight mister or you're grounded." Peter shouted, like a parent scalding a teenager.

Ray continued up the stairs and out of sight, shaking his head the entire time. Peter, turning back to Egon, sighed deeply before grabbing at where his heart would be.

"They grow up so fast."

* * *

Kitty's day had started with a bang, literally. She sat straight up in bed as she heard banging and clanking coming from the kitchen. Her hair was sticking up on end, looking like half an afro on the side of her head; her eyes now glassy, not from lack of sleep or even possession by an evil deity, it was finally from a goodnights rest.

The events of the night before seemed like a dream, parts seemed fuzzy to her, and she could only vaguely remember what had happened. She flinched as she stretched her back, her muscles feeling tight as if they had been overworked, before climbing out of bed and down the hallway.

She stumbled down the hallway, holding on the walls for stability as she emerged from the dark hallway. Angie was in the kitchen, stirring something on the shove as she hummed a sweet tune. She had been awake for some time now, having done her hair in a soft wavy curl; she had dressed for success in a white button up shirt tucked into a black pencil skirt. She watched the scrambled eggs bounce around the pan from behind a pair of square glasses.

Angie hated her glasses, after years of being called 'four-eyes', you get tired of it. She almost cried the day she bought contacts, now able to see without being made fun of; however today, the glasses were on.

Kitty wearily stumbled towards the bar, before sliding onto a barstool. Rubbing the dried sleep from her eyes, she sighed loudly, earning the attention of the for-mentioned sister. Angie smiled as she glanced over at Kitty, who currently had her head on the table. "Good morning star shine," Angie began, in the annoying sing-song voice she always did when she was happy, "the Earth says hello."

"You stole that from a song." Kitty groaned, lifting her head from the cold counter. "Hell, you stole that from a movie."

Angie smirked, feeling slightly rambunctious this morning. She sifted out some scrambled eggs onto a plate and put them in front of her sister, who simply stared in wonder at the older of the two. Angie's brows furrowed, "What?"

"Who are you and what have to done with my sister?" Kitty asked as she narrowed her eyes in on the impostor. Angie laughed, shaking her head as she answered, "Nothing, it's the same old me, just a little happier than normal."

"Why is that?" Kitty asked, shoving food into her mouth. Angie wasn't the greatest cook, about the only thing she could cook were scrambled eggs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make any other style of eggs, they always turned out scrambled. Fried, poached, even baking they would turn to scrambled eggs.

Angie grinned as she served herself a plate of her infamous eggs. "Well, there are lots to be happy about; you are finally sleeping on a normal schedule, I'm doing well at work, and I've-got-a-date-with-Ray-today." Angie expressed before drinking a large gulp of coffee from her comically sized coffee cup. Despite saying that last bit rather fast, Kitty caught it, coughing on her eggs as a result to the sudden news.

"Since when?"

"Since about four o'clock this morning." Angie smiled, taking a smaller sip of her coffee.

"Talk about a booty call—"

"It was not a booty call!" Angie exclaimed, slamming her mug on the counter as it splashed up, getting all over her hand. Kitty jumped as she raised her hands, "Okay, not a booty call then." Kitty mumbled before shoveling more food down her throat.

Angie used a small hand towel to wipe up the extra coffee that spilt out of the cup, sighing deeply. She bit her bottom lip before Kitty sat up straight, rubbing the back of her head.

"So, where is Mister-Science taking you then?"

Angie smiled. "I actually suggested the coffee house down the street from the firehouse."

"I just never thought of you dating the nerdy type." Kitty murmured, before bringing another fork full of scrambled eggs to her face.

Angie pondered for a moment, the words for her sister echoing in her mind. Her track record wasn't the squeakiest, having dated more immature jerks than the city of New York allows.

She needed something different, and Ray was different than anyone she had met before.

"Well," Angie mused, snapping herself from her stroll down memory lane as she took a sip of coffee. "I figure I need a change; new city, new life, right?"

Kitty smiled, starting slowly across her lips as she nodded, "A new life…" She whispered to herself, letting the words resonate on her lips.

Angie peered over to the clock hanging by the fridge, her eyes widening to about twice their normal size. "Shit!" Angie shouted as she poured out the rest of her coffee in the sink, the caramel colored liquid splashing back as she ran towards the door, her feet barely touching the floor.

She wiggled into a black overcoat, and with a single swish of her hand, moving all of her brunette hair from inside her coat as it bounced at her shoulders. "Are you gonna be okay?" Angie asked before throwing the strap of her purse over her head, resting along her shoulders.

Kitty shrugged her shoulders, "I should be fine. I think I'm gonna call Mister Carl today, see if I can't get my job back-"

"Good idea!" Angie said, opening the door before sneaking out to the hallway. "I'll see you tonight – bye!" Angie shouted before closing the door, the pictures on the wall shaking from the sudden door slamming.

That was four hours ago.

Kitty stared at the popcorn ceiling, making images out of the rough plaster, like a child might with a cloudy sky. She felt her chest rise and fall with each breath as she waited alone in her apartment. She knew that Angie would come home with some smile plastered on her face, the way she always did after a date. Kitty had tried to warn her about the boys she dated, telling her to wait until they were men to become involved, but Angie never listened.

Angie had the idea that by being the older sibling, she was smarter and could tell when her own relationships were around to hit the rocks. She never saw them coming. It sometimes felt like the roles were reversed, and Kitty was the older sister comforting the younger, naïve Angie.

Kitty sighed deeply, making out a chain-smoking duck in the plaster dots passed the rotating ceiling fan.

She jumped, almost swearing as a knock ran out from the apartment door. Swinging her legs over on to the floor, Kitty wearily walked to the door. She slid the chain lock undone and opened the door to find the short, 'perfectly' gel-ed hair, thick glasses wearing neighbor that Angie tried so desperately to ignore.

"Hi Louis." Kitty yawned, rubbing the back of her head. Louis took a deep breath before bellowing out: "Hi Kitty, I was curious if you and your sister wanted to come to a party I'm having tomorrow. It's gonna be mostly clients, but I didn't want my neighbors to feel left out, so I thought I'd ask – is Angie home? I thought I might catch her before she left for work this morning—"

"Nah, she left earlier this morning-"

"Aww, that's a shame. I hadn't talked to her in a while – I usually try to in the mornings, but I can never get out here in time. I guess I'll talk to her at the party then?-"

"You know Louis," Kitty started, walking out into the hallway. "I'm gonna go for a run, I'll uh… Talk to you later." Kitty said as she started to jog down the hallway and towards the elevators. She bounced on the balls of her feet as she pushed the down arrow on the elevator, jogging in place.

"Oh! I'll come with!" Louis exclaimed, stammering down the hallway next to Kitty.

"I need to get in shape anyway – I actually just read a study that inactivity kills more people than smoking does, isn't that incredible? I don't smoke, but I mind as well if I sit around doing nothing all day." Louis rambled; standing next to Kitty as she bounced up and down.

Silently cursing at herself, she wished she had stayed in her apartment.

* * *

I don't like this chapter.  
It feels too much like filter to me.  
Also, I won't be able to update or write for the next couple weeks.  
My great-great aunt is in the hospital.  
They think it's her time to go.  
Until next time.

~Pure.


	10. Earning a Heroes Reward

I own Kitty and Angie.  
I do not own the Ghostbusters.

* * *

Kitty wished she would have just stayed in the apartment. Walking around with Louis close beside, occasionally tripping over his own feet, wasn't the way she thought she'd spend her day. Despite the awkward company, she deemed it better than staring at the ceiling of the apartment. And Louis wasn't bad company; he was actually able to hold full conversations with Kitty. Granted, most of the conversations were one sided. She didn't mind them at all, usually not one to talk much in the first place.

Kitty took a deep breath, her lungs filling with the sweet smell of autumn. The fallen leaves, the flowers releasing the last fragrance before going dormant for the winter; it calmed her. Central Park, as she read once, was created to keep New Yorkers 'down to earth', literally planting this large garden in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. It did just that. On 5th Avenue, you can watch pompous princesses spending all daddy's cash, but walk down the street and you can sun bathe by the many man-made ponds as people walk their dogs, or ride a bike.

Louis had a look of terror in his eyes as he exclaimed "I forgot my allergy medicine." He patted down his pockets, feeling for the blister pack that held his allergy relief, finding nothing. Kitty spun around on her heel; doing a one eighty before walking back to the apartment. As he had done going to the park, Louis kept to her side, telling her things she wouldn't wanted to know in a thousand years. Most of what Louis told her probably shouldn't be uttered under any circumstances. He told her about his clients and their financial situation, then he talked about the time he had an ingrown hair that had grown out the other side. Kitty held back this morning's breakfast, as she prayed that they were getting closer to the apartments. Kitty nodded along with Louis, biting the inside of her cheek as they finally made their way back to the apartment building. The night guard gave them both a slight wave and hint of a smile as they walked passed the glass double doors.

"So it's not his fault, you see." Louis continued his story as the both entered the elevator. Kitty's index finger bent as she pushed the button for floor number 20. The doors clamped closed, the sound of steel of steel echoed through-out the cabin of the elevator. "He didn't know he was getting name brand - but I warned him about it and he saved twenty-eight cents."

"Great." Kitty moaned, watching their reflection in the polished steel. Even her expression looked bored, her head tilted to the side, her eyes almost glossed over. She had forgotten she was wearing just a t-shirt and sweatpants, cringing as she remembered walking by 5th Avenue. The ladies there all wearing fashion forward clothes, while seemingly ignoring the girl in sweatpants and a "Frankie Says Relax" t-shirt.

Louis kicked the metal grate floors, his leather penny loafers scrapping on the metal before looking at Kitty and the unimpressed look plastered on her face. "Am I bugging you?"  
"What?" Kitty's eyebrows creased.  
Louis sighed. "I know I'm not the most well liked guy in the building." Kitty shrugged her shoulders.  
"And I know I'm not the best looking guy." Louis sighed, before biting his lip. "And I know I can be annoying.—"  
"Louis!" Kitty all but shouted, pulling Louis' wandering mind from his mad rambles. Kitty closed her eyes and sighed, momentarily asking herself if this was in fact a good idea.

"You aren't well liked." She started, slowly watching as Louis' demeanor changed from bad to worse. She had to talk fast. "But! You are a very nice, sweet guy, and one of the nicest neighbors we have."  
Louis beamed.  
"Come to think of it, you're the only neighbor that has introduced yourself. Everyone else seems to ignore us, but you don't. You make sure that we know we're welcomed here, wither we like it or not."  
"You're just saying that."  
"No I'm not!" Kitty defended. "Ask Angie when she gets home - Angie never lies." Kitty watched as the grim look on Louis' face seemed to melt away, exposing the bright, cheery, and almost sick-ingly optimistic smile on his face. Kitty couldn't help but smile back at him, enjoying the quiet time between the two of them.

The polished metal opened to the hallway that they shared; the white art-deco wallpaper greeting them as they both walked off the lift, and for the first time since Kitty started to walk with him, silence. Louis stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked along side Kitty. "So," Louis started, killing the silence that Kitty so desperately longed for. "Do you think you and your sister would like to come to my party tomorrow?" Biting her bottom lip, Kitty was about to tell him that they would love to come to his party, a complete and total lie; but she was cut off by the two grown adults making out in the hallway.

Ray and Angie stood beside door 22B, caught in an embrace. Ray had pinned Angie against the doorframe of the apartment, holding her in place as Angie circled her arms around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Kitty bit her inner cheek, stopping herself from cracking up laughing right there.

Instead she did the 'adult' thing and cleared her throat loudly. "Ah-hem!" Kitty exclaimed, grabbing at the base of her throat as the two jumped apart from each other like teenagers caught in the act. Both Angie and Ray looked over at Kitty, a deer caught in the head lights came to mind as Kitty walked down the hallway to her door.

"Hey Ray." Kitty said, sauntering over to the apartment door as if she hadn't interrupted anything. Angie could feel her face heat up as she buried her face into Ray's button up shirt. He just stood there, a hint of a smile crept across his face as he nodded to Kitty.  
"Kitty."  
"How is work doing?" Kitty asked, digging into her back pocket for her keys. The jagged piece of metal ran across her finger before she pulled out her tiny keychain.  
"Work is fine." Ray said.  
"It seems that way if you have enough time to make out with my sister." Kitty said, nonchalantly as she plunged the key into the lock. As if she was having a twin moment, she felt Angie's face get redder and redder. A smirk appeared on Kitty's face; she took a sick pleasure in this, something only a sister can do. With a twist of the wrist the door to the apartment was open, swinging back to hit the back wall once more. Kitty spun on her heel to face Ray, who had wrapped his arm around Angie's shoulder as she buried her red face deeper into his collar. "Ray," Kitty started as Ray stood up straight. Sighing deeply, Kitty went for the kill. "Don't get my sister pregnant."

Quickly, Kitty closed the door behind her, fearing the wrath of the royally pissed off and embarrassed Angie, who no doubly was going to bust through that door and kill her; which puzzled her even more as to why she hadn't busted through the door yet.

* * *

Angie felt her face get redder and redder with time. Just Kitty walking in on them both was embarrassing enough, though she wasn't expecting complete privacy in the middle of the hallway. Angie just wanted Kitty to go away as she rested her head in the crook of Ray's neck. Kitty was always thick when it came to awkward moments. Maybe it wasn't that she was thick, Angie thought, maybe it was that she just liked getting Angie riled up. Which of course explained it when Kitty said, "Ray, don't get my sister pregnant."

Angie turned to swipe at the younger of the two, but was only met with a slammed door to the face as Kitty had disappeared in the apartment. Her face now redder than it had ever been, she turned back to face Ray, meeting his endearing smile. Damn that smile, it was contagious. She was convinced, since every time he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back, usually in some giggling fit. He had that effect on her, an effect which no other man had had on her before.

"Well," Louis started, pulling his pockets from deep within his pockets. "I think I'd better take a shower. Bye Kitty!" He shouted at the closed door. He turned to Angie and gave a small wave. "Bye Angie. Bye strange man." He mumbled, slamming his frail body against the wooden door as it got 'unstuck' and popped open. Louis skirted into the apartment and closed the door, muttering something about vitamins.

Biting her bottom lip, she looked back up at Ray, who still smiled back at her. "I'm sorry about that." She apologized, referring to the younger of the two. "Sometimes I think I liked her better when she was possessed."  
Ray laughed. "Now you don't mean that."  
"Oh but sometimes I do." Angie said coyly, wrapping her arms back around her neck. As if muscle memory, Ray's arms snaked their way back around her waist, pulling her close to him again. "I like to think I'd get away with a lot more."  
"Like what?" Ray asked, the words nothing more than a whisper on his lips.  
"Well, for instance…" Angie trailed off as she stood on her tip toes, her lips crashing into his.

Sparks, fireworks, boom! The moment was more explosive than the fourth of July. Slowly, she felt the wood paneling on her back as Ray moved closer, pinning her to the back wall. She released her arms from around his neck, exploring as her hand moved down the side, passing his collar bone and finally resting on his chest. She could faintly make out the beat of his heart, which seemed to be beating faster than a normal human. A humming bird, maybe, but not a human.

Holding the small of her back with one hand, Ray's fingertips traced down her skirt, lightly caressing the skin below the fabric as he moved down her thigh. Her breath hitched, moaning lightly against his lips. She could feel him smile, silently enjoying each breath and every moan. Using the leverage at her disposal, she pushed on his chest, pulling him from the kiss. He looked down at her, a mixed look of worry and confusion set on his features. "Too fast…" Angie breathed, her chest rising and lowering with each deep breath.

Mashing his lips together, Ray nodded, understanding - though he didn't want to.

She took a few more deep breaths as Ray leaned his forehead on hers. To be honest, she didn't want to stop. It killed her not to touch him, or have him touch her. He could make her head spin with a glance, give her skin goose bumps with a single touch, and could make her smile uncontrollably on a whim. While she didn't want him to stop, she knew he had too. It was going too fast, but a part of her didn't care - However, that wasn't the part that was in control right now.

"I want to see you again. Tomorrow." Ray breathed, closing his eyes and he rested against her. A flash of a smile crawled across her lips. "I work tomorrow."  
"So do I." Ray sighed as he remembered the deal he made with Peter. "Venkman is going out tomorrow, so I'm covering his shift."

Light. Bulb.

"What if you were to come over to firehouse?" Ray suggested, opening his eyes to the pair of brown ones below him. "After work, I mean. A lot has changed since you guys were there last, and I could give you a proper tour."  
Angie smiled, "I'd love that. But what if a call comes in?"  
"Doubtful, we aren't that busy on Thursdays." Ray breathed, running his arms back down around Angie's waist. She smiled at the warmth around her waist, wrapping her own arms around Ray's neck. Moaning lightly, she leaned up against him. "Okay." She said, sending his endearing smile her way once more. "I'll see if I can't get off work."

"Perfect." Ray smiled, leaning down to kiss her lips once more. This time feather light, perfect little teasing kisses landed on her lips. He was getting good at teasing her, she noted. If it was one thing Angie didn't like, it was to be teased. She liked _to_ tease, not to _be_ teased.

Sighing deeply, meanwhile letting a light groan escape, Angie unwrapped her arms from around his neck. She turned to the door as she twisted the doorknob, the door instinctively opening. Ray let go of her waist and with a reluctant sigh backed away from the doorway.  
"Goodnight Miss Reed."  
Angie smiled wide, spinning around in the doorway to face him as she held the door open. Ray matched her wide smile as she whispered to him, as if it were some sort of secret. "Goodnight Dr. Stantz."

Biting her bottom lip, she slowly closed the door, blocking out his view of her so that she could go full 'girl' as Angie said. Going 'girl' is acting like a stereotypical girl would, how the heroine in all of those romantic-comedies do after the perfect date: Lean against the back of the door and sigh heavily, imagining the next time that they'd be together, possibly walking in slow motion through a flower patch.

Sadly, Angie shortly realized she was doing all of these things. Leaning against the back of the door with a big ass grin on her face, she has released her third sigh of the afternoon and thought about the next time they would meet again, in the firehouse, not a field of flowers. But it was in slow motion.

Out of the corner of the room, Kitty spun around on the bar stool, recreating her favorite Bond villains entry. Holding a small teddy bear in place of a cat, she stroked the back of the fuzzy bear, feeling its faux-fur beneath her fingertips.  
"Spill."

* * *

Okay, _big_ update.  
First, I wanted to update you that my great aunt had passed away Tuesday morning. We had the funeral Thursday.  
Second, I had updated both chapters seven and eight. I re-read those chapters and was severely disappointed. They sucked. I'm sorry I put you through that. Please forgive me.  
Third and final, as this week from hell is over I should be updating more often. Yay.  
As always I hope you enjoyed it!  
Pure.

Thelma Harris  
1913 - 2012


	11. SS,DD slash Going to Firehouse

I do not own Ghostbuster, Mork and Mindy, the Clapper, or any of the other references I have made. Ever.  
I only own Angela and Katherine Reed.

* * *

Sighing heavily, Kitty shifted in her seat for eighth time that day, finding the once comfy spot were all the springs where bent out of shape, creating a divot in the couch cushions. Besides thinking that they need a new couch, Kitty thought it broken in, homey, almost rustic. Angie thought it was a piece of junk that they never should have picked up from the PTA thrift shop and fought to get the damned green-corduroy monstrosity up the four-story walk up. Only later that day did they realize that the elevator worked, having passed it five different times in moving.

Finding that comfy spot in the couch again, Kitty rubbed her hand through her greasy, unwashed hair as she watched the 18" color TV. The laugh track roared in hilarity as Mork tried to sit on his head, Mindy looking on in disapproval, arms crossed over her brightly colored sweater. Tilting her head from left to right, Kitty earned two deep pops from the joints in the neck, realizing pressure that had been building up over the day. It can be stressful, sitting on your ass watching old TV shows. Mork said something quick and almost entirely incorrect, before shoving the words 'nanoo nanoo' at the end, the laugh track playing once more to make people think this was actually entertaining.

Just as Kitty got comfy, finding that divot in the couch from this morning, the melodic ringing of a bell echoed throughout the busted apartment, the wallpaper still peeling itself away from the sheetrock. Sighing in annoyance, Kitty threw her hand behind her, her fingers wrapping themselves around the phone as she answered. He normal 'cheery' attitude was in full force as she shouted "Yellow?!" Into the receiver, hoping to scare whomever was on the other side of the phone call.

"_Purple."_ Angie's sarcastic tone was impossible not to recognize, her voice ringing from the ear piece. A grin spread across Kitty's face. Finally, after all day of watching reruns of sixty's sitcoms, someone she could talk to.

"Hey – shouldn't you be on your way to the firehouse?" Kitty asked, glancing at the analog clock above the dark hallway. 9:25 PM.  
"_I would, but Bilson has been riding my ass all day." _Angie said, sighing from sheer exhaustion._ "He freaked out about a merger project that went under and now he has us running over time – Oh! Oh, yes ma'am I'll be able to send your package today. Thank you for your patronage!"_  
"Did you just have a stroke?"  
_"No."_ Angie laughed quietly. _"Bilson just walked passed. Anyway, I was calling to tell you that I'm gonna be late."_  
"Yeah it's already nine thirty."  
_"Nine thirty?! Shit."_ Angie cursed, sighing deeply against the receiver. _"Then I'm gonna be home later that I thought I would."_  
"No sweat, I know how those days can be."  
_"Speaking of which – how was your day?"_ Angie asked, knowing that it would be the last time they would get to talk that night. Sighing, Kitty tried to think of what she had done all day. Ignored the dirty dishes in the sink, thought a new product from the guys that brought you Cheeze Wizz, didn't take a shower, watched sixties and seventies sitcoms, and most importantly, didn't go out looking for a job today. Her productivity had dropped since being possessed.

Those are words you just don't think about together like that.

"You know, the usual." Kitty said, shrugging her shoulders at her sister that couldn't see them. "Though, I wasn't completely bored – Louis started the party at three this afternoon. Every now and then I can hear a bit of a Michael Jackson song."  
_"Oh god,"_ Angie sighed, stifling a laugh between her fingers. "_How many times did he play Man in the Mirror?"_  
"Too many times, Ang. Too. Many." Kitty said, hearing Angie's tired voice on the other end laugh. At least she could find it amusing, Kitty didn't ever think that song was going to leave her mind, being played almost on loop as Louis patently waited for his guests to arrive.

There was a pause on the other line; a faint sound of ruffling on Angie's side was accompanied by the sound of female voices whispering. The ruffle went away and Kitty could hear the voices again. _"Listen, Kit, I got to go. Don't wait up for me okay?"_

A draft, that's what Kitty thought it was. A shiver passed through her body, causing her to reach for the quilt grandma Pat made for them that hung carelessly over the back of the couch. Using her free hand, she pulled the quilt over her body, draping it over her long legs. "Not a problem." Kitty said, her thoughts getting back on track with the phone conversation. "I wasn't planning on anyway!"  
_"Gee, thanks!"_ Angie whined, sarcasm dripping from every word. The two of them said their goodbyes; Angie's slightly more heartfelt than Kitty's sarcastic one, as Kitty through the phone receiver over the arm of the couch, almost slamming the phone back into its console.

Turning her head back to the TV, she watched as her sitcoms turned to commercials; the annoying jingle of the 'Clapper' echoing on the empty walls of the apartment. 'Clap on! Clap off!' The paid actors sang together, you could almost hear the sound of their pair smiles. The blue light illuminated from the TV, lighting up the small living room as Kitty forgot to turn on the lights today. She even forgot to shower and change clothes. Forgetfulness, or just plain ole' not caring, seemed to be a popular theme among what Kitty did.

The hairs on the back of Kitty's neck stood on end, lifting the small, light hair up off of the goose bump ridden surface. An electric charge or something to that effect, waved over her. The air itself had charged, like the feeling during a severe lightning storm. A strong feeling came over her, adding to the goose bumps and electric charge in the air, a certain dose of paranoia as she felt like she wasn't alone. She closed her eyes, fearing the feeling of being watched more than the other symptoms. This wasn't real.

Kitty panicked, not wanting to go through being possessed again. They promised, she told herself, thinking back to when Peter and ray had been here, spending the night and parts of early morning trying to get her back from were ever she was. They didn't say it would come back, if this was even the same thing! What if this was a new thing, what if there was some sort of portal in her apartment that made it easier for spirits and demons to leave their world and come into ours? Slowing herself, she took a deep and well needed breath. As she exhaled, she felt a pressure on her shoulder, five individual fingers pressing on to her skin, cold to touch. Kitty's brown eyes opened wide, hoping for something human, a Jehovah's Witness, a little Girl Scout, a old woman selling bibles, a burglar, a murderer, a rapist; something! Kitty shifted her body weight, moving her knees underneath her for leverage, the sensation cold fingertips still on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath of faux-courage, Kitty spun around, facing behind the couch.

No one was there, she noted, staring back at the doorway. Louis finally had some people show up to his party, Kitty could plainly hear the sound of people talking to each other, the hit song Hot Night by Laura Branigan blasting on the stereo as you could faintly hear the chipper voice of Louis, introducing people in excruciating detail to the fellow patrons. The sounds of the party muffed by the 'thickness' of the walls, the heavy bass shaking the personal effects of the Reed sisters.

Swallowing her fear, she took another deep breath - breathing somewhat of a luxury today – as she built up the courage to face whatever currently shared her apartment. "Is anyone there?" Kitty said, her voice cracking under the fear in her voice. The attempt to sound strong failed; whatever was in here with her knew she was scared. She silently begged for nothing to reply, fearing the outcome if it had. This had to be a dream, she told herself, nothing but a dream.

"_It's not a dream, Katherine."_ A disembodied voice rang out from the darkness, cackling. The voice seemed to have different tones, maybe even different voices all speaking at the same time. "This is every much real." Kitty could no longer feel her heart, it was beating so fast. This couldn't be happening – this wasn't happening! The Ghostbusters fixed this, why is this happening again? Her heart sank, her body following suit as she fell back down into the old couch, her body finding its way into the divot in the springs. This was happening, she told herself solemnly. This is actually happening.

"_Come on Kitty. Come join us."_ The voice said, this time a nasally voice took the lead, speaking for the other voices as they cackled in background. Kitty shook her head, her eyes welling up with tears as she tried to hold them back. Whatever was here wasn't going to see her break down; they weren't going to see her weak.

Before being able to react, Kitty's hands were suddenly bounced at her sides, an invisible tightness around her small, frail wrists. Her legs locked down to the ground, as if glued. Kitty fought against the forces holding her down, a tough feat while tears run down your face. _"Don't cry, we aren't going to hurt_ -" The voice said, toying with Kitty's fragile state. _"- You."_

Praying, Kitty started to recite the Lord's Prayer as best as she could remember. Sunday school being a long time ago, and even though she wasn't especially religious, she couldn't help but remember the saying 'there are no atheists in foxholes' . "Our father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." Kitty cried, trying her best to wiggle free from the grip of whatever invisible force was holding her. The deep, groveling voice cackled once more. _"That little nursery rhyme isn't going to work with me, sweetheart"_

* * *

Work had to have run late, didn't it? Angie asked herself as she huffed down the street, her high-heel clicking on the concrete on the way to the Firehouse. Muttering to herself, she shuffled her bound feet down the street, holding her black jacket close as the zipper broke earlier this morning as she was getting ready. Out of all the days for things to go wrong, today was going to be that day.

First thing was showing up to work late; Angie's boss stared coldly at her as she emerged from the elevators, quickly taking a seat at her cubicle and not moving the entire day. Her boss, Bilson, had been in a rotten mood since earlier in the morning with a large merger project fell through. The company was on the verge of losing billions if someone hadn't come up with a good idea. _"No one is leaving until we get this settled!"_ Bilson shouted over the office, and had repeated himself several times during lunch.

Even Jenna, usually upbeat and lively, had buckled down, hiding in her small four by four office space during Blison's rant. Angie took the hint, leaning over her chunky computer and typing on the large keyboard. Occasionally, Bilson would walk around the office, making sure everyone was doing some sort of work, even if he hadn't.

File this, print that, fax this over to this person; Angie took his orders with a grain of salt and sweet smile. She ran back and forth from his office, helping him out in away way she could._ The faster 'projects' start disappearing,_ she thought, _the faster I can get the hell outta here!_

Eight o'clock hit before he actually let anyone leave, the building was all but abandoned in minutes, leaving only Angie, who was finishing up a quick report, and Bilson. He held his head in his hands, the reflection of the incandescent light bouncing off of his balding head. Knocking softly, Angie pushed the door open and slid the top half of her frame through._ "Mr. Bilson?" _Angie called out, pushing the filed report through the crack of the door. _"I'm done with today's report."_

"_Thank you."_ He said lifting his head, exposing his now red and puffy eyes. Pushing the office chair back, he groaned with each step he took towards Angie as he plucked the report from her hands. "_I apologize about today_." He said, huffing slightly at his words.

"_About what, sir?_"  
_"About how I acted today. Today was just…"_ Blison paused, snapping his fingers to come up with the right word. _"Today was just the day from hell."_  
Angie suppressed a laugh. _"I know that feeling."_ She mumbled. Beaming an obviously fake smile at the man that made her day hell, she asked sweetly, _"Is there anything else I can do you for, Mr. Bilson?"_  
Shaking his head, he waved her off, excusing her from his office.

She never ran out of building so fast.

Slowly making her twenty block journey through Manhattan, Angie huffed once more, holding her own arms to keep herself warm. A taxi would be great right now, she thought as her teeth started to chatter, a warm-ish cab of a taxi on a November night, the smell of curry as the drive spoke in a language she had only heard in Star Wars. Perfect.

Before long, passed the block or four of cursing at the New York taxi system, she had finally made her way to the neighborhood Egon claimed to be a 'de-militarized zone'. It wasn't as bad as he made it seem; though Angie could have sworn that person across the street just bought a human liver from a man branching a trench coat.

Finally coming across the old firehouse, Angie ran to the front door and rapped her fingers on the painted green door. She hopped lightly on the balls of her feet as she noticed the bright neon sign with a ghost peeking out from behind a restriction symbol. Hmm? Must be new, Angie thought as she released a deep breath. Kitty was always one for perception.

Quickly, the door opened as a small red-headed woman popped her head out from behind. "Hello, can I help you?" She said, her thick Queens dripping on every word.  
"Umm – yes! Is Ray Stantz here?" Angie asked.  
The woman shook her head, "No, he's out on a call – wait, you're Angie, are you?" She said, opening the door a little wider. Angie smiled as she bounced her head up and down; Ray had been talking about her, at least enough for the receptionist to remember. A slick smirk crawled across her lips, "I _thought _he was gonna miss you."  
"I had a hell of a day at work."  
"Join the club." She resorted before opening the door all the way. A warm breeze came in from the firehouse as she held the door open. "Won't you come in?"

Smiling warmly, Angie stepped through the door, like she had only weeks ago. It's amazing to think how much things had changed in that small time frame. Before, the Ghostbusters were nobodies, just looking for a single client – now they're off on calls all the time, by the looks of it. The firehouse had been fixed up, fresh paint on all the walls, new light fixtures and posts; the firehouse even looked larger, thought it might have something to do with an abstinent Ecto-1.

Clambering down the wooden steps, a nasally voice echoed off the walls, "Janine, who is it?". Pausing halfway down the stairs, Dr. Spengler eyed the new woman in the firehouse, looking her up and down. One of Peter conquests?

"This is Angie." Janine filled him in, rushing to the staircase. "The girl Dr. Stantz was telling us about." Nodding, he made his way down to the bottom step, still towering over Angie, as he offered his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
"It's good to see you again, Dr. Spengler." Angie corrected as she shook his hand. Raising an eyebrow above his thick round glasses, he silently questioned her. "My sister and I were one of your first clients. You guys helped us with our little…" Angie paused, searching of the right word. Haunting? Ghost? Demon?

Dr. Spengler nodded slowly; the memories of that day rushing back to him. "I remember; your sister was the one we tested the Proton Collider on." Angie smiled and nodded, thought silently questioning what the hell a Proton Collider was. Janine coughed loudly, bringing herself back into the conversation. Egon looked over at Janine before pulling his hand away from Angie's. Suddenly, he was aware that after you top shaking hands with someone, you're just holding their hand and that can be seen as awkward.

Angie's brows furrowed, before watching Janine's expression change from when Egon was holding her hand to when he stopped, a sudden joy rushed over her soft features. "So, um…" Egon said, breaking the silence. "How has your sister been since? Any change of behavior? Signs of psychokinetic activity?"

Angie shook her head, recalling earlier this morning Kitty had regained her appetite, even asking for seconds on a set of pancakes. "Nope, not at all. It's like everything went back to normal!"

* * *

Kitty screamed as an invisible hand muffled her shrieks for help. She tried to wiggle out of the grips of the force, crying loudly – though her sobs were block out by the sound of popular music of Louis' stereo across the hall.

* * *

Angie's train of thought was interrupted by a rhythmic knocking, echoing throughout the firehouse. Egon's eyebrow shot up as his neck craned to the door, silently questioning who it could be at this hour?

"I'll get it." Janine sighed, bouncing down the stairs and towards the large door to firehouse. Her delicate fingers wrapped around the door handle as she yanked the door back, exposing a New York City police officer; a typical, smug NYPD look across his rough features. Janine eyed him up and down, "Picking up or dropping off?" She uttered, matching his scowl.

"Dropping off." He said quickly. Mentally drained from answering calls from every 'psychic' in the five boroughs, this police business isn't what she needed this late at night. "One moment." She sighed, closing the door in the officer's face, leaving him in the cold November air.

"Egon," Janine called out from the door, "There is a cop here - I think you might want to take a look at this." In that moment, she had Egon's full attention. He started to jog towards the door, picking up the pace as he got closer to the large garage door. There is no reason for a cop to be here this late at night, he theorized, unless Ray and Winston got in some trouble at the Hudson.

Angie weighed her options carefully, but curiosity got the best of her. She decided to follow Egon, keeping a few paces back so she wouldn't look like a little lost puppy.

Egon lightly grunted as he pulled the door open, once again showing police office behind the door. Egon's brows furrowed as he too eyed the cop before him. "You a ghost buster?"

"Yes." Egon said. With a simple jerk of the head, the officer started towards the quiet large van pulled in front of the firehouse.

"We picked up this guy and now we don't know what to do with him." The police officer explained, leading Egon and the lost-puppy Angie towards the back of this large van. "Bellevue doesn't want him and I'm afraid to put him in the lock up. I'm telling you, there is something weird about him. And I know you guys are into this stuff so we figured we'd check with you."

In one swift motion, the back of the door swung open, almost hitting Egon. Dazed and confused, Louis Tully sat in the back; his arms were restrained, held in place by a special strait jacket. His normally gel-ed hair now wild and unruly, as if he had lost a fight with a blow dryer, a certain look of frantic determination fluttered in his eyes as he leaned towards Egon, stopping before reaching him by the leather restrains and ankle cuffs.

"Are you the gatekeeper?" Louis asked, a hint of exhaustion on his breath as Egon waved a small PKE meter over the restrained man. The PKE meter went off the chart, bellowing out its signature high-pitched whine.  
Curiosity once again getting the better of her, Angie peered around the side of the van. Her eyes grew three sized bigger as she covered her mouth, out of everyone in New York, she wasn't expecting to her neighbor. "Louis?"

Egon's attention snapped to Angie, "Do you know him?"  
"He's my neighbor." She breathed, watching as Louis' head bounced back and forth between Egon and Angie.  
"You'd better bring him inside." Egon suggested, making his way back to the firehouse as the arresting officer unlocked Louis' shackles.

Janine walked beside Egon, wrapping her arm around his. "You are so kind to that man." She said, peering back for a moment to watch Louis stumble out of the van. "You are such a humanitarian."  
"I don't think his human." Egon stated, oblivious to the advances of the short, red-headed woman beside him as Angie walked beside Louis and the police officer as they strolled into the firehouse.

Egon hooked Louis to different machines, each one looking like they jumped out of a Frankenstein movie. He had been poked a prodded by every test and machine Egon had at his disposal. Running through the different theories in his head, Egon thought up all the things that this could be, besides the obvious mental breakdown. Egon fitted the final machine to Louis' body, strapping something that looked like a colander, wired with hundreds of electrodes to a large, filing cabinet sized machine in the corner. Janine and Angie stood back, using the couch as a makeshift barricade as Louis' wild eye expression eyed the lab.

"What did you say your name was?" Egon asked, repeating himself as he watched to computer screen. His PKE measures were off the charts, it seemed something every strange had happened. "Vinz Clothro – Keymaster to Gozer." Louis said, shouting his title with pride. Janine held his wallet between her painted fingernails, staring at the gawkish, toothy grin on his driver's license. "According to this his name is Louis Tully, lives on Central Park West."

His brows furrowed behind his round glasses as Janine handed him the leather wallet. Janine leaned towards Louis, ignoring the fact that he was grabbing for Egon's arm in an attempt to look at the wallet. "Do you want some coffee, Mr. Tully?" She shouted, like one would shout to an ailing elder.

Looking to Egon for guidance, Louis asked "Do I?"  
"Yes, have some."  
"Yes, have some." Louis parroted, nodding his head in confirmation. Janine and Angie shared a strange look, before she left to turn on the Bunsen Burner. Angie watched from behind the couch, silencing her snickers from behind her hand in front of her mouth.

"Vinz," Egon started, addressing the young Mister Tully. "You said before you were waiting for a sign, what sign are you waiting for?"

Louis swallowed, his eyes growing to an abnormal size as a child on Christmas. "Gozer the Traveller will come in one of the pre-chosen forms." Louis stated, drawing a deep breath as continued. "During the rectification of the Vuldronaii, the Traveller came as a very large and moving Torb. Then of course in the third reconciliation of the last of Meketrex supplicants they chose a new form for him, that of a Sloar." Louis swallowed again, getting too excited for his own good. Egon started to rub against the stubble growing on his cheek as he tried to make sense of Louis/Vinz' mad ramblings. "Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day I can tell you."

The three of them stood in shock, mostly trying to comprehend what he just said. Angie was left scratching her head of all of this, what the hell is a Sloar? "Egon?" Janine called out, drawing him over with a finger curl. Egon nervously shifted his weight across the room, standing before Janine behind the couch. "I have a very bad feeling about this." Janine said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Angie, silently excusing herself from the moment, slowly made her way over to the couch. The couch squeaked as it adjusted to the extra weight as Louis cranked his head towards her. Giving a shadow of a smile, Angie raised her hands above her head in surrender. The last thing she needed was to piss of some Babylonian spirit in habiting her neighbor's body.

That's something she never thought she'd be concerned about.

"There is something strange about that man." Janine said, pointing with her chin to Louis, who at the moment was sniffing a jar of popcorn. "I'm usually very psychic and right now I have this terrible feeling something awful is gonna happen to you." Janine expressed, staring up at Egon with pleading in her eyes. "I'm afraid you're gonna die." Janine, always the headstrong one, leaned her body into Egon's, wrapping her arms around his waist. Awkwardly, he returned the gesture, holding her before looking over at the crazed man; now handing the jar of popcorn to Angie, who accepted it kindly, flashing a bright smile. The spirit paid no mind to her kindness and went off in search of other objects to give. Egon's thoughts were elsewhere from the short red head holding him; he needed to find out what the hell was going on. He needed to find Ray.

The three humans in the room jumped at the phone ringing out. Even Louis/Vinz jumped, turning around to face whatever made that hideous sound. "I'll get it!" Egon shouted, pulling out of Janine's embrace and over to the phone.

"Hello?" Egon answered. Vinz, trying to helpful, picked up the rest of the phone and handed it to Egon. "Thanks, I've got it."  
_"Egon, it's Peter. I have news from the world of Gozer."_ Peter started  
"What is it, Peter?"  
"_I'm here with Dana Barrett. __It's seemed that the Goz' has been putting the moves on MY would-be girlfriend!"  
_"How is she?" Egon asked, watching as Louis/Vinz rubbed a slice of day old pizza on his face.  
"_I think we can get her a guest shot on Wild Kingdom. I just whacked her up with about three hundred CC's of thorozine - She's going to take a little nap now_." Peter paused, considering his next words carefully. _"She says she's the GateKeeper, does that make any sense to you_?"  
"Some." Egon replied, looking over to Louis/Vinz. "I've just met the KeyMaster. He's here with me now."  
"_Oh, wonderful, we have to get these two together."_

Egon looked over to Louis as he began gulping down the boiling water from the Bunsen Burner. Egon shot a look of concern to Angie as she stifled a laugh behind her hand.

"I think that would be extraordinarily dangerous."  
"_Okay, well, hold on to him. I'll be over there in a little while_."  
"Good." Egon remarked, watching as Louis handed him a frying pan from the kitchen. "Thank you, Vinz." Egon accepted it, plastering on a fake smile before leaning behind him to Janine, who covered her agape mouth. "We have to find Ray. I need him here immediately."

Angie nodded, trying to stop herself from laughing at her possessed neighbor as he kept giving objects to people, handing Egon the lamp that was on the end table beside the couch. You know, in case he needed a lamp. But Egon was right, Angie mused, rubbing the back of her head-

They needed to find Ray.

* * *

A fresh update for you all.  
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you all like it so far.  
My sister told me over the weekend that she had found my FF account.  
She said she didn't read any of them, but knew that I had two FanFics and they were both Ghostbusters, which didn't surprise her at all.  
Kitty is actually kind of based off her, so I hope she doesn't read it for my sake. (I don't think she'd like being possessed for most of the story.)  
But if you are reading this: Hi Myka!  
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.  
~Pure.


	12. I Believe It's Magic

I don't own Ghostbusters or any of the references that I have made.  
I only own Angie and Kitty Reed (Whom is currently MIA)

* * *

The morning sun peaked through the dirty window, passing the dusty old mini blinds and into Angie's shut eyes, waking her from an intense, peaceful, beautiful sleep. Groaning, she turned over on the lumpy old, grey couch, facing the back rest before burying her heat into the aged cushions. She didn't want to wake up, though lumpy and seated her body at weird angles, it was the closest thing to a goodnights rest she'd had in a long time.

Opening her tired brown eyes, she moaned as she moved a lock of curly brown hair from her view, pinning it behind her ear. As she sat from the couch, her back popped in about twenty different ways, all relieving some pressure on her spine she hadn't noticed before, earning a deep, relaxing sigh from her chapped lips. The dorm area was quiet, not a soul moved besides the one of the groggy Reed sister.

The light moved through the dirty window, creating a golden appearance on the common room. The walls covered with different pieces of paper, news articles, hand-written exurbs from different metaphysic books, and even children's stick figure drawings of the Ghostbusters, all from the PS 6 Middle School, depicting each of the guys capturing some sort of ghost. The machines had been left on, Egon must have forgotten in the heat of the moment, running different tests of Louis/Vinz before finally disappearing from view. Twisting her head to face the lone analog clock in the corner, she groaned even louder, noting that she had slept in for the first time in about three years. Almost a record.

Voices came from down stairs; the deeper, nasally voice of Egon's prevalent as he mentioned something about going to the basement, taking Vinz with him to run a few more tests. Tilting her head from side to side, earning two extra pops to add to the collection, Angie got up off the couch and walked around the common doom. The cold floor was a shock to her warm feet, but she got over it as she looked at the different effects of the boys in grey.

Starting in the kitchen, Angie worked her way around, ignoring the smell of week old Chinese and a mixture of different experiments that had 'Egon' written on them in black magic marker. Venkman's influence was apparent as the 'Employee of the Month' board was covered in pictures of himself, striking various poses and taken from the different rag magazines as it hung on the white walls. Beside that was a cork board, covered in different newspaper articles about the boys, different ones calling them heroes for saving the Rose nightclub, other condemning them for using 'black magic'.

Slowly she peeked and prodded, snooping through their stuff as she came across a desk covered in different machines and meters, most of them were torn apart, or in the process of being fixed. She combed over the pile before her eyes landed on the small steel box with electrodes hanging off around it that saved Kitty's life.

Smiling at her surroundings, she realized why Ray loved it here so much. It felt like home. Sure, the dished needed to be done, and the windows needed to be washed, there was a garage in the main room and a red school-house bell that went off whenever someone called - but it was homey, lived in, inviting. She didn't want to leave. Though, she did feel odd, snooping through their things, fearing the moment when Janine or Egon would come up the stairs, catching her in the act.

She started down the stairs, hopping along as she took the stairs two by two, her bare feet bouncing off the wooden staircase. Janine looked over at Angie in suspicion, silently wondering which one of Egon's experiments did she get into while she was alone upstairs. Reaching the landing, Angie beamed a smile at Janine, catching her off guard. "Morning!" Her cheery voice cutting through the stale morning air like a butter knife. Janine, who had forgotten to make extra coffee this morning, simply waved her off, returning to her desk covered bills and invoices.

Regarding Janine as more of a night owl, Angie carried on, following the end of the staircase around to the entrance to the basement. The wooden door was held open by one of Egon or Ray's heavy books. Peter found it a necessity to put something in front of the door to hold it open, stopping the young scientists from being locked in the basement. Why he had chosen one of their first editions was beyond any of them.

She bounced down the staircase, silently watching from the shadows as Egon and Louis/Vinz got situated with the machines in the basement. The different machines clicked and hummed, adding the suspense of the basement with all it's different knobs and nodules that might end up blowing Manhattan sky high. Maybe.

She could no longer contain her curiosity as she emerged from the shadows, enchanted by the blinking lights of the containment unit. Egon's eyes followed her as she walked straight to the unit, bewildered by the machine itself. He took a moment from dealing with Vinz, who enjoyed mimicking Egon's movements, to warn Angie. "Don't touch that." He said, warning her of the dangers of the containment unit. She jumped, not expecting such an authoritive tone with him. He seemed so quiet, it was almost out of character to yell or even raise his voice. Sighing, Egon explained "It's highly detrimental. I just don't want to have to deal with it right now."  
Angie crossed her arms behind her back, intermingling her fingers together as to make sure not to touch it. "Not a problem. I wasn't planning on touching it anyway." She mumbled, gazing at the unit as it blinked different lights at her. "I wouldn't even know what I was looking at."

A knowledgeable smirk crept along Egon's thin lips, watching the young woman as she gazed in curiosity. After watching Vinz flip through a clipboard haphazardly, Egon skirted around the desk in the middle of the room to Angie's side, causing her to jump in surprise. Egon was never one for words, as he silently pointed to a small screen in the center of the unit. Her eyes widened as she bent at the waist, staring intently at the scene before her on the small black and white screen. It was a baron wasteland, filled with different apparitions, floating along in the void. All different shapes, sizes, even mass as some were full bodies with arms and legs, while others where just mists like had appeared in Kitty's room that night.

Angie turned to Egon, her eyes widened and her jaw practically hitting the floor, she stared at him in disbelief. "Is this-… I mean… Are these all the ghost you've caught?" She asked, turning back to the screen once more. A smirk appeared on Egon's face, the brightness of the screen itself illuminating Egon's dramatic features. He nodded, silently proud of what he had the Ghostbusters had done, and the scientific discoveries because of them. With the data from the containment unit, they could turn the scientific world on its head.

Angie's expression was grimmer, staring at the screen with sorrow in her heart. It made her sad to think that these people once lived – well, most of them did anyway. They had jobs and families, maybe husbands or wives, children even. Now they stayed cooped up in a containment unit, which by the looks of it was getting crowded, forced to live the rest of their unnatural lives in a chamber, until eventually their energy runs out. It was a grim thought, and one that shouldn't be shared, Angie thought, regarding the scientist beside her looking on in a dull daze. Egon really didn't say much.

Their independent train of thought was derailed when Louis/Vinz started to cause too much of a problem just to sit and be quiet, turning his frustrations into a cause for destruction as he started to rip the paper of the clipboard into long, thin strips. Egon turned to Vinz, and much like a scolding mother, took away Vinz' 'toy' and forced him to stay on task. After Angie had inadvertently distracted him, Egon rushed over the Vinz' side, getting ready for another one of his tests. "Vinz," Egon starts, turning to the wall of machines behind him, "There is one more test I'd like to perform—" He was interrupted mid thought as the sound of chunky boots clambered down the concrete stairs.

To Angie's surprise, a New York police officer come down the stairs first, branched in his uniform of dark blue and funny hat. Second the practically fall down the stairs was a Con-Edison Power man, his bright yellow hardhat attached to the top of his head. And then another man stumbled down the stairs, his bright red hair clashed against the contrast of the dark grey in his suit as a permanent snarl was plastered on his face. Angie turned to face the three men as the crowded the entrance as well as exit to the basement. Janine followed behind them all, getting trapped behind the human wall of uniforms as she shouted "Egon, I tried to stop them! He says they have a warrant."  
"Excuse me, this is private property." Egon explained calmly and rationally as only Egon could, despite being caught off guard.  
"Shut this off. Shut this all off." The ginger said, waving around a group of papers in his hand to the containment unit. Angie moved over swiftly to the containment unit, using her body to block the lever. Egon soon followed, spreading out his long six foot wingspan, blocking all possible points of entry from these intruders. "I'm warning you, " Egon said, guarding the containment unit and Vinz from these strange men. "Turning off these machines would be extremely hazardous."  
"I'll tell you what hazardous. You're facing federal prosecution for at least half a dozen environmental violations. Now either you shut these beams off or we shut them off for you." The redheaded man resorted back. Egon didn't budge, and following his lead, neither did Angie.  
"Try to understand. This is a high voltage laser containment system. Simply turning it off would be like dropping a bomb on the city!"  
"Don't patronize me!" He said, pointing his boney little finger in Egon's face. "I'm not grotesquely stupid like the people you bilk."

Angie's jaw dropped at the apparent insult. She would have retaliated, but at that moment another pair of footsteps followed down the stairs. Venkman sauntered into the basement, quickly taking notice of the tension in the room. Placing a hand on the officer's shoulder, he silently prays that his charm might work on these monkeys. "At ease, officer." Peter said, using his university thinking to talk with the man with the gun first. "I'm Peter Venkman. I think there has been a slight misunderstanding and I wanna cooperate in any way I can."  
"Forget it, Venkman!" The ginger shouted, turning his rage to Peter. "You had your chance to cooperate, but you thought it would be more fun to insult me. Well, now it's my turn, wise ass."  
"He wants to shut down the protection grid, Peter." Egon filled him in, still blocking the small ginger from the containment grid.

Peter's eyes widened momentarily with the terror of that scenario coming to life. "You shut that thing down and we're not going to be held responsible-"  
"On the contrary—"  
"—for whatever happens."  
"—you will be held responsible!"  
"No! We won't be held responsible!"  
"Shut it off!"  
"Don't shut it off," Peter said, looking to the very confused Con-Ed man. "I'm warning you." The Con-Ed man looked back and forth between the two men before taking a peek behind Angie, taking a quick glance of the machine that she was so desperately blocking. Rubbing the back of his head, the Con-Ed man shrugged his shoulders. "I-I've never seen anything like this before."  
"I'm not interested in your opinion, just shut it off." The redhead commanded to the minimum-wage worker.

The Con-Ed man started to make a reluctant walk over to Angie, dropping his head down and staring at the ground before Peter grabbed onto his shoulder, stopping him in his place. "My friend, don't be a jerk."  
"Step aside!" The police officer shouted, pushing Peter out of the way.  
"He does that again you can shoot him." The redhead resorted, earning a dirty glare from the Brooklyn-ite rent-a-cop. "You do your job, pencil neck! Don't tell me how to do mine!"  
"Thank you, officer." Peter offered as some sort of peace offering to the only man with a gun, only to earn his own dirty look from the cop. The redhead glared now, for a moment, Angie could have sworn she saw steam exit his nostrils. "Shut it off!" He demanded, now glaring at the young Con-Ed man.

Angie and Egon shared a similar look of defeat as they walked away from the wall of electronics. Over his shoulder, Angie saw Egon make an explosion with his fingers, mouthing the words that were on everyone's' minds: _'Boom!'_ Peter nodded solemnly, as he slowly backed up to the stair case. With his feet on the last step to the basement, Peter decided he was going to be one of the first people out of that building when it, ultimately, would 'Boom!'. He hesitated, questioning his own sanity as he grabbed Angie's wrist, wrapping his fingers tightly around her. Angie sent him a look of deep concern, not only from the inevitable explosion, but from Peter's sweaty fingers around her wrist. If this was his idea of hitting on her, it was a wee bit too late.

The Con-Edison man, with look of worry of his own, pulled the red lever, shutting down the complex system. The warning alarm went off, whining at all in the vicinity of its lack of power. A red light flashed around the room, looking like a police light as it warned all those in the small basement. The alarm silenced all, all silently waiting for something to happen. The Con-Ed man sighed; his shoulders dropping as he mentally slapped himself. "Oh shit."

In a flash, Peter started up the staircase, taking the steps two by two as he dragged Angie behind. She stumbled, trying to keep up with Peter as he ran franticly up the stairs. Egon and Janine followed suit, with Louis/Vinz behind, still mimicking Egon's expressions as they finally made it to the main floor.

Peter made a mad dash for the exit, the sun made the exit look almost heavenly as it illuminated the exit in a nice white light. The machine started to whine, rumbling in its fixed position as the pressure from inside began growing and growing. Egon and Janine made it out of the stair well and towards the exit as Egon shrieked "Clear the building!" to no one in particular.

Running like hell, Peter and Angie made it out of the building just in time, Egon and Janine facing a front of the blast smoke bellowed out of the entrance. The Ghostbusters, always ones to draw a crowd, looked up into the sky, shocked at their discovery. A pink beam of light exited from atop the firehouse, reaching up through the cloud over Manhattan. Peter shielded his eyes from the sun, staring up in utter shock at the light show before them. Angie couldn't believe her eyes as she shook her head back and forth, this couldn't be happening.

"This is it!" Louis/Vinz shrieked, basking in the glory and destruction. "This is the sign!"  
"Yeah it's a sign all right – 'Goin' out of Business'!" Janine resorted back, shouting over the explosion of the containment unit. They all looked on in horror, the crowd around them doing to same as ghosts left and right began to pour out of the particle beam, taking their freedom into their vaporous hands as they roamed New York, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

The familiar high pitched whining siren filtered over the sound of the crowd forming, the four of them looked over the heads of the crowd to see the very top of the Ecto-One. The Ecto-One screeched to a halt as the doors flew open. Ray stepped out of the Ecto-One first, his eyes focusing on the beam of concentrated light pouring for the roof top. Running his dirty hand through his hair he cursed loudly, almost loudly enough to be heard over the firefighters trying to put out the 'blaze' with water. Winston exited the car, slamming the driver's side door shut as he began to cut his way through the curious crowd, making his way to the front where Peter and Egon stood, contemplating what just happened.

Ray followed, making his own path through the New York City crowd before stopping beside Peter and Egon. The two of them shared the look of exhaustion and agony before looking at the other half of the team, almost glad they showed up, but they didn't look it.

"Ray!" Angie exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. Slowly, Ray closed his eyes, remembering the date that he had promised to her. He would have thought she'd be angry, or a little upset, but those thoughts didn't cross her mind as she hugged his neck, his own arms wrapping around her waist. She was just glad he showed up!

They unwrapped themselves from each other, flushing ever so slightly as she spun to face the rest of the group. Winston had an all knowing smile on his face as he shook his head, forgetting about the 100-foot beam shooting out of his place of work. "What happened?" Ray asked, his arm still wrapped tightly around Angie's waist.

"The storage facilities blew." Egon filled him in before turning around to the ginger bureaucrat. "_He_ shut off the protection grid."  
Ray's eyes widened as he ran his free hand through his hair. Winston looked for visual cues from the boys and got none. "That's bad, right?"  
"Yeah."

Angie's brows knitted, looking around the chaotic scene before her. Franticly she started to look at faces in the crowd, but not finding the one of the gel-ed hair, square-glassed, gawkish looking Sumerian god inhabiting her neighbor's body. "Where's Louis?" Angie asked, her voice hoarse from the smoke of the explosion. She coughed loudly as her words resonated with Peter, his eyes widening. "Where is the Keymaster?"  
"Shit!" Egon cursed, matching Angie's frantic energy as he looked around in the crowd. Ray and Winston shared a look of confusion, shaking their tired heads. "Who's the keymaster?"

Egon looked around; finding the only possible path for young Louis/Vinz would be down the street, towards Central Park. He nodded to himself, waving the boys, and Angie, along as he started to jog up the road. "Come on!" He shouted. They had to find the Keymaster.

"Hold it! I want this man arrested." The bureaucratic ginger shouted over the sounds of police sirens and fire hoses. He stuck his bony finger into Egon's face as he shouted "Captain, these men are in criminal violation of the Environmental Protection Act, and this explosion is a direct result of it!"

"YOUR MOTHER-!" Egon shouted, lunging at the ginger with a lust for blood. Though, the police had quicker reflexes, getting in the way before any serious damage occurred, and restraining Egon, and his fellow Ghostbusters. The boys kicked and yelled, fighting their way into a bigger mess then if they were to just give up. The crowd behind them cheering them on, earning on of the best shows to hit the New York streets in a long time. Angie barely made it through the police barrage, sneaking away from the ruckus the two opposing sides created, with the Ginger as a cheerleader of sorts.

The handcuffs clasped around their wrists with a sickening click as the four of them were brought to the police car and searched. Ray had been pushed against the hood of the New York police car as the police officer searched him for any weapons or anything illegal that they might also stick on his criminal record, which up until now had been squeaky clean.

Lifting his chin from the chipping automotive paint of the hood, Ray caught Angie's passing glance, the encounter enough to spark an idea. "Angie!" Ray shouted over the madness that is New York. She paid no mind, either ignoring him or just not hearing him over the police sirens. "Angie!" He shouted again, this time earning her full attention. "You have to find a way to get us out, Ang!"

Her eyes widened, hoping for both of their sakes that she'd just misheard him. "You have to find a way – any way!" He shouted again, before the police officer pushed him into the patrol car. The door slammed with a dull thud as the sirens blared, warning people to get out of the way.

The crowd was noisy, unruly from the prosecution of the Ghostbusters. The engines started and within seconds the patrol cars were gone, totting off the four Ghostbusters with them. The crowd booed the cop cars as they left, one brave pedestrian even threw a Big Gulp at one of the cars, the blue slushy mix spreading across the windshield. Angie swallowed heavily, turning around on her heel as she looked through the crowd as it began to dissipate.  
How in the hell was she supposed to get them out?

* * *

Hi.  
I hope I didn't insult anyone using the word 'ginger'.  
I figure that's not the worst word I've ever used, but still.  
I didn't like writing this as much as I would have liked.  
However, the next chapter is gonna be fun.  
To put it nicely; I was ever so slightly inebriated when I wrote it.  
Enjoy!  
~Pure


	13. Getting Help in High Places

All rights belong to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.  
I do not own Ghostbusters or any references I have made thus far.  
I own Katherine and Angela Reed.

* * *

The city was a mess; the ghosts had complete control of the city, even holding some of the elected official's hostages as they made their peace with the living. The ghouls of Manhattan took the reins as they reclaimed what was once theirs. Some of the specters took back to their human ways, women running into the streets from their office buildings over an 'invisible molester', dodging the taxi of a reckless zombie as he dodged in and out of opposing traffic. The local news station was overrun with its own set of ghouls, taking over the afternoon broadcast and delivering the news with an undead, maggot infested grin. Even the food carts had been over run, the hotdog vendor on 49th facing his own problem as a smelly ghost seemed to gobble up his merchandise by the mouth full. Angie had only one person to run to, and he wasn't having any of it.

"No way!" The Mayor Lenny Clotch said, bullying his way through a set of double doors through city hall. Angie followed him, relentless as she pursed freedom of the Ghostbusters. "I'm not having those freaks running around, blowing up my city!" He exclaimed as his entourage helped him through the line of press, waiting for the next political slip up. It was, after all, election season. Angie followed behind, not giving Lenny as chance to breath as she followed him and his bodyguards to his office. Mayor Lenny sat at his desk, the large mahogany desk over a majority of his person as he weighed his options. He leaned back in his office chair, it squeaking from the usual pressure as Angie stood before him, the middle of the office. Body guards on either side, she spoke her peace. "You know and I both know they're the only ones who can help." She reasoned, watching the Democrat contemplate his next action by stroking his stubbled cheek.

Mayor Lenny, a man of the people, his campaign pleaded, begging for peoples votes. Out off all the candidates, he was the only one with a half a brain among them, earning Angie's vote. Though, as of now, he didn't seem to use one brain cell of the half a brain as he actually thought about talking to the Ghostbusters. Out off all of the men in New York, anyone of the five boroughs, he actually _thought_ about calling them, setting free the bail of the Ghostbusters. There was no thinking, in Angie's mind. Thought she silently waited for Kitty's smart ass remark. "If anyone can help" Angie reasoned, "then it's them."

"How can I trust them?" Mayor Lenny argued, leaning over his desk in anger. "According to my resources, they're nothing but a bunch of con artists—"  
"According to your resources this shouldn't even be happening!" Angie shouted, louder than she intended. Lenny, being a married man for fifteen years, knew when a woman was shouting you shut up and listen no matter how irate. "These men are the only ones that might have an answer, why won't you listen to them?" Angie asked, her voice returning to a normal, low sound as the thought marinated with Mayor Lenny. He stroked the side of his check, rubbing a place where he missed shaving this morning as he looked up at this young girl, begging for his attention, just to listen to her. All she was asking was for him to consider them, the four men currently sitting in jail under an unspeakable bond. He knew that he was their only way to get out. Was he willing to take that chance?

Under a sigh, pressure releasing from his conscience he nodded, waving off a bodyguard. "Go get to Ghostbusters." He moaned, not liking his own words as they exited his mouth. Angie grew a smile ten feet wide as the bodyguard left for the local jailhouse to pick up the Ghostbusters.

* * *

"So be good, for goodness sake! Whooa!" Peter sang to the other inmates, giving them both a show and a dance. The rest of the inmates were peeking over the Ghostbusters shoulders over their advanced theorems and techno babble, Peter decided to entertain, as only Peter can. Ray rolled his eyes at the funnyman as he leaned over the table, currently laid out with the blueprints for Dana Barrett, Louis Tully and Angie and Kitty Reed's apartment, after figuring that the building itself was a giant magnet for paranormal activity. It explained everything; Dana Barrett seeing a Sumerian God in her fridge, Kitty's apparent fall to the dark side, Dana's then fall to the dark side – everything fit! It was great, Ray thought, finally putting his thoughts to rest. Finally, they would all be able to live in peace, but first, they needed to get to a judge.  
"We have got to get out of here." Ray said, leaning over the table and wrapping up the blueprints on the table. "We've got to talk to a judge or something."

"Hey, hey, hey! Hold it! Hold it!" Winston exclaimed, claiming the rushed feel of the boys. They all paused, even Peter stopped singing for a verse or two as they all focused on Winston. "Now are we actually going to go before a federal judge and say that some moldy Babylonian God is going to drop in on central park west and start tearing up the city?"  
"Sumerian, not Babylonian."  
"Yeah, big difference." Peter said sarcastically, correcting Winston in his knowledge of ancient gods. Never studying, huh? Winston brows knitted together as he watched Peter and Ray, judging if they were truly serious about the words exiting their mouths. When neither of them said anything to contradict what Peter had just said, Winston shook his head. "No offence, guys, but I gotta get my own lawyer."

"Okay, Ghostbusters." The security guard on standby said, "The Mayor wants to see you guys. The whole island is going crazy. Let's go." He said as he opening the cell door, unleashing the Ghostbusters onto the world. Peter looked back to the other inmates that he had grown so fond of and started saying his goodbyes in his own special way. "I gotta spilt." He said, patting one of the jailbirds on his shoulder. "The Mayor wants to rap with me about some things." Peter was the last to exit, through his own actions. Ray and Egon were anxious to meet the mayor and figure out a plan to solve this, though, they figured he won't like what they had to say.

* * *

Lenny was upset. People all over the city were asking him what to do, and he didn't have an answer for them. Waiting around in the office of Mayor Lenny Clotch, Angie twiddled her thumbs, occasionally picking at her cuticles. If this didn't work it was all her fault, she figured as she picked a certain cuticle a little too deep. Lenny paced the floor, watching patiently for the Ghostbusters to show up. His police force was taking an extra special time in bringing in the Ghostbusters, he thought as he paced, wearing a hole in the carpet. He stopped, facing the map of the city as he exclaimed. "I've got a city blowing up, and you guys aren't giving me any answers!" The mayor shouted, getting the attention of his aid. The police commissioner spoke up, trying to please the furious Mayor. "All right, we're blocking the bridges, the roads – I mean.."

The double doors leading to the Mayor's office busted open as a short young man walked through, his snappy suit being the only thing sharp about him. He cleared his throat hesitantly as he said "The Ghostbusters are here, Mr. Mayor." Angie's head shot up as the four men walked into the office. "The Ghostbusters, alright, the Ghostbusters." Though exhausted from last night and this morning, their clothes tattered and worse for wear, they all walking into the office with their heads held high, determined to fix New York back to the way it was.

Ray noticed Angie almost immediately, her normally wild and curly hair hard to miss in a room full of straight-laced politicians. Her hair fell into her face as she twiddled her thumbs, currently being the most interesting thing in the room before the four of them walked through the double doors. With the Mayors Aide's introduction, Angie looked up and gave a weak smile through her tired features. Ray couldn't help but smile back as the young woman made her way over to the four of them, moving passed the old-bitter statesmen, before wrapping her arms around Ray's chest, burying her face in his tattered jumpsuit. Ray bit his bottom lip as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as she mumbled something in his chest. She lifted her head, looking up at him with her dark brown eyes. "I'm so glad you guys are alright." She whispered, holding back exhausted tears. Ray smiled back; his heart skipped a beat when she said that. _She genuinely cares_, he thought as he stared down at the beautiful young woman in his arms.  
"Are you okay?" Ray asked, his voice low in a whisper. She nodded despairingly.  
"I haven't heard back from Kitty." She explained. "I've called her five times but she won't answer." Ray bit his bottom lip, hesitant to tell her about the discovery they had made in the jail house.  
"Don't worry," Ray said as he moved a piece of curly hair behind Angie's ear. "We'll find her." Angie's lips curled into a grin before burying her face back into his collar.

Peter cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to himself. "We were in jail too – don't we get a hug?" He asked, opening his arms wide in anticipation for a hug. Angie raised a brow before shrugging her shoulders.

"Hey - Where is Peck?" The Mayor asked, looking down the hallway for the little ginger headed man. Out of nowhere, the small, redheaded suit walked through the double doors, pushing his way through the line of Ghostbusters.

"I'm Walter Peck, sir, and I'm prepared to make a full report!" The ginger shouted, making his way passed everyone else in the room. Edging his way to the Mayor, he bullied his way between Peter and Ray, shoving both of them in the process. Ray bowed up in anger at Peck only restrained by Angie, using her own body as somewhat of a human shield. She didn't need him back in jail over a fist fight. Ray narrowed his eyes as he watched the little man run to the front of the office before the Mayor.

"These men are consummate snowball artists!" Peck shouted, pointing at the Ghostbusters, and more importantly, Venkman. "They use sensitive nerve gases to induce hallucinations. People think they're seeing ghosts! And they call these bozos, who conveniently show up to deal with the problem with a fake electronic light show!"  
"Everything was fine with our system," Ray said calmly, holding onto Angie's shoulders. "Until the power grid was shut off by dickless here."  
"They caused an explosion!" Peck shouted, pointing at the Ghostbusters with his eyes. The Mayor narrowed his eyes, looking to Peter as he stood there with a smirk on his face. "Is this true?"

"Yes it's true. This man has no dick."

Peck lunged at Peter, aiming for his jugular as Peter dodged behind his fellow investigators, using them, and Ray's girlfriend, as human shields. Ray took the blunt of the blast from Peck, holding the ginger at arms length before the others got involved. "Break it up!" The Police Sergeant shouted over the ruckus. The mayor's bodyguards were quick to respond, grabbing the tiny ginger before her got to do too much damage to himself or others. "Well that what I heard!" Peter shouted from behind the human shields, getting one last punch in before returning to their separate corners.

"This is city hall!" The Mayor shouted, as if the geography of the fight would make too much of a difference. "Now what I am I gonna do here, John?" He threw his hand in the air as the Fire Commissioner sat down, the joints in his knee popping in both agony and relief. "All I know is this:" The Fire Commissioner said, placing in uniformed cap on his bad knee as he looked to the Mayor from behind thick round glasses. "That was no light show we saw this morning. I've seen every kind of combustion known to man, but these beats the hell out of me."

The Police commissioner pointed to the map of Manhattan, staring directly at Peck. "The walls of the 53rd precinct were bleeding. How do you explain that?" The Police Commissioner watched Peck as he made no attempt to answer, only biting the inside of his cheek as he looked in disgust at the Ghostbusters.

The door to the mayor's office had been getting a lot of extra use today, as the door opened, revealing a catholic priest dressed head to toe in red and black religious garb. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." The Archbishop said, closing the door behind him with a quiet click. The priest looked to Angie and nodded his head, bowing slightly, causing Angie to do a similar gesture. "And lady."

"Oh… Your Eminence!" the Mayor exclaimed, moving around his desk to meet the Archbishop who had graced the room with his presents. The Mayor took the Archbishop's hand and kissed where a holy ring might have been. Even though growing up catholic, and even attending catholic school, Angie never quiet understood the meaning of kissing the ring. Releasing his lips from the priest's hair knuckles, he shook the holy man's hand as the Archbishop asked "How are you, Lenny?" A hint of an Irish accent on his lips.  
"You're looking good, Mike." The Mayor said, playfully slapping the Archbishop on the cheek. "We're in a real fix, here. What do you think I should do?"  
"Lenny, officially, the church won't take any position on the religious implications of these phenomena." The archbishop said, patting the mayor on the shoulder. "Personally Lenny, I think it's a sign from God. But don't quote me on that."  
"I think that's a smart move, Mike." The mayor said as the archbishop sat down, resting his old bones as the mayor went on another rant. Turning back to his office chair he threw his hands in the air. "But I'm not gonna call a press conference and tell everyone to start praying."

Winston cleared his throat, clearing some fear and some excess flem from his throat before stepping before the mayor. The Mayor watched as he stood in front of his desk, nervous as in introduced himself. "I'm Winston Zeddemore, Your Honor." Winston said before leaning on the mayor's desk. "Look, I've only been with the company for a couple weeks. But I gotta tell you, these things are real. Since I've joined these men, I have seen shit that'll turn you white!"

Angie quickly moved her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing too hard. Looking over at the other officials in the room, a lot of open mouths and hand covering the eyes as Winston's message wasn't well received in a room full of white men. Peter walked forward, casually strolling to the front of Mayor Lenny's desk, taking some of the heat off Winston. "Well, you could believe Mr. Pecker—"  
"My name is Peck."  
"—Or you could accept the fact this city is heading for a disaster of biblical proportions." Peter said, earning the attention of the highly religious man behind the mahogany eyesore. Furrowing his brow, Mayor Lenny looked at Venkman. "What do you mean 'biblical'?"

"What he means is Old Testament biblical, Mr. Mayor. Real wrath-of God type stuff." Ray said, stepping into this conversation. "Fire and brimstone falling from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!"  
"Forty years of darkness!" Egon added. "Earthquakes! Volcanos!"  
"The dead rising from the grave!"  
"Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together!" Angie joined in, sensing a bit of a theme.  
"Mass hysteria!" Peter finished, now all but shouting at the mayor.

"Enough! I get the point!" The Mayor shouted over the five of them, silencing them all as he stood from his office chair. Peck looked on in disbelief at the events occurring before him. The Mayor was actually giving these guys a chance to plead their case! This was insane; they should be locked up right now, rotting in jail as they wait for their sentencing. They surely shouldn't have an audience with the mayor. The Mayor walked around to the other side of the desk, sitting on the edge of the desk as he plunged his hands deep into his trouser pockets. "What if you're wrong?"

"If I'm wrong, nothing happens! We go to jail. Peacefully, quietly, we'll enjoy it!—" Peter said, earning some concerned looks from the guys. "- But if I'm right, and we can stop this thing; Lenny, you would have saved the lives of millions of registered voters."A simple smile crept along the mayor's rough Irish features as he thought through Peter's offer. Looking to the archbishop for feedback, he watched at the holy man nodded with contempt at the apparent bribe of sorts. At least, that how it looked for Peck.

Rushing to the mayor's side, Peck looked on in disbelief. "I don't believe you are seriously listening to these men." The Mayor looked to Venkman, watching him for any hesitation in his words. Mayor Lenny was usually a great judge of character; hell, that's how he won the election! He considered Venkman's words carefully before pointing his finger at Peck. "Get him out of here."

"Bye." Venkman said through a thick, smug smile. Peck narrowed his eyes at Venkman, his nostrils flaring. "I'll fix you Venkman. I'm gonna fix you-"  
"I am going to send him a nice fruit basket – I'm gonna miss him!" Peter said, pointing his thumb at the redhead. Angie wiggled her fingers, waving at the suit as he was forcibly escorted out of the office. "Alright! Alright!" Peck shouted at the bodyguards as the removed him to the hallway. The bodyguards closed the door behind Peck, as he fumed in the hallway over the Mayor's apparent choice.

The Mayor looked back at the map of New York City, noting the little pegs on the board meaning more and more sightings and New Yorkers in trouble. In a hush, Mayor Lenny Clotch turned to the Ghostbusters and faced them head on. "You've got work to do. Now what do you need from me?"

Angie groaned, holding the side of her head. "Oh, how I wish you hadn't said that."

* * *

Wishing he had chosen his words a little more carefully, the Mayor ran his hand through his thinning hair as Venkman told him all the things they would need to fix what the presumably fired Peck messed up. Venkman listed off the Army, National Guard, Red Cross, the NYPD, and even some cop from New Jersey just to cover the sheer amount of body guards they needed. The streets were empty, the curious people and members of the press held back by police barricades as the Ghostbusters made their way to the Ecto-one. Sighing dramticlly, the Mayor voiced his concern while keeping pace with Ray and Peter.  
"I don't understand it. Why here and why now?"  
"What goes around comes around Your Honor." Peter explained. "Just that big Lazy-Suzan of karma just keeps on spinning. Sometimes you just get the short end of the stick."  
"Maybe its nature's way of telling us to slow down." Ray piped in, his hand behind his back as he kept pace with the other two. "You've got to admit, it's rather humbling—"  
"We're humble already!" The Mayor said, stomping off in a hussy, leaving the Ghostbusters to prep for the upcoming battle.

Angie twiddled her thumbs, something of a new hobby as she had been perfecting this little act all afternoon. Leaning against the drivers side of the Ecto-One, she silently waited to talk to Ray, waiting to at least say goodbye. It was nerve wracking, watching helplessly as they tried to figure out the best way to fix all this, and not having any ideas of her own. All that she'd known about ghosts was from Ray told her and what she'd learned from TV movies, which wasn't saying much. The idea that this could be happening on a large scale, all of New York, was insane! Two weeks ago she didn't even believe in any of this stuff, now she was living it. How the boys did it on a regular basis was beyond her. Angie was so deep in thought, the hypnotizing act of twiddling her thumbs a new type of meditation – she didn't even notice ray walk up to her. "Hey." Ray said, snapping her out of her dream-like state. She blinked a few time, clearing the sleep from her tired eyes as she smiled weakly at him. "Hey."

"I'm sorry." He started, staring down at his work boots. Angie narrowed her eyes in curiosity at the man in the grey jumpsuit. "I had completely forgotten about our date last night. Just the call came in, and we were the only ones available and—"  
"Ray?" Angie interrupted; a sly smile crept across her lips as she pushed herself from the Ecto-One. Slowly she wrapped her arms around Ray's waist, sending a chill up his spine, unbeknownst to her. Her big, brown eyes looked into his as she whispered softly. "This has been the best date I've ever been on."

Ray smiled, his big goofy, adorable grin at her, silently causing her heart to melt a little bit, before her leaned down to kiss her. Hovering only a few antagonizing inches away, they were interrupted by Peter, who'd made a habit or ruining other people's delight. "Oh not you too!" Peter shouted, making a beeline for the two of them. They both pulled away from each other slightly, as if they were caught in the act by a concerned parent.

"Didn't your momma tell you not to go messin' with no ghostbusta? Now go on home!" He said, in his worst, thickest Bronx accent. Angie raised her brow at him, silently questioning his sanity as Peter walked around the front of the Ecto-One, strutting as it were before climbing into the passenger seat. Ray laughed, getting use to Peter embarrassing him in front of Angie. Throwing caution to the wind, Ray leaned down and pecked Angie on her soft lips.

She wanted more, not knowing if this was the last time she was ever going to see him again. It killed her to know that this might be the last time he would hold her, smile at her, kiss her. Taking two steps back, immediately missing the warmth of his hugs, a small group of tears rushed to hear eyes before she plastered on her worst smile. He matched it, his own sorrowful, but somehow cheerful smile, as only Ray could do, appearing on his face as he waved bye. Angie sniffed back tears as she waved back, a sorrowful wave goodbye. "Be safe!" She shouted, feeling too much like a doting mother. Ray smiled, nodding before climbing into the driver's seat of the Ecto-One.

With the roar of the engine, the siren started its signature whine, the citizens and associated press got excited, cheering early before they had even done anything. Peter rolled down the manual window before sticking his head outside. "Come on! Let's run some red lights!" He shouted as the police brigade in front of the Ecto-One started to move forward. Angie waved one last time, wiggling her fingers at the boys in grey before Ray put the converted hearse in gear and strolled down the crowded street to Central Park West.

* * *

I love Harold Ramis.  
You know why?  
The Mayor's last name in Clotch.  
Needless to say after downing a full bottle of wine, that last name became hilarious.  
So, yeah, I love him.  
I hope you enjoyed it.  
~Pure.

CLOTCH 2012.


	14. Saving the Day

I don't not own Ghostbusters.  
All rights for this movie and any references belong to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.  
I own Kitty and Angie.

* * *

The feeling in the air had changed as dark clouds collected over Central Park West, hovering above the top of the apartment building. The air seemed charged, like the feeling during a thunder storm. The air was charged, by either the quickly materializing storm or the massive group of police outside, waiting patiently for the Ghostbusters to arrive and save the day. Different news stations had shown up from all over the state, even a couple news reporters from CNN showed up, staring intently at the camera as they filled in there viewers on the latest developments. Across from the news trucks were a group of doomsday-ers, all branching signs that read "THE END IS NOW" and "REPENT!"

Hanging over the wooden police barricades, a small group of punks leaned over trying to get the best seat in the house for when the end of the world finally showed up. They all talked amongst themselves, their dark makeup and bright colored hair almost a requirement for their antiestablishment ideology. Behind the loud-mouth punks were a small group of Hassidic Jews from the local temple, all wailing in earnest at the events before them as the Police held back the ever growing crowd.

Angie looked on in horror, never in a million years expecting this many people outside her apartment waiting for the end of the world. Janine stuck to Angie as they made their way through the crowd, earning front row seats as they pushed through the mod-like crowd. Janine was nervous, as seen by the red nail marks Janine made in Angie's wrist, her press-on nails digging into her skin. Angie didn't seem to even notice, ignoring the pain of the nervous redheaded woman beside her as she heard off in the distance the distinct wail of the Ecto-One.

The Police motorcade rode up to the front of Central Park West, following closing behind was the converted, white Cadillac hearse, with its blue police lights flashing in warning to get the hell out of the way. The crowd cheered loudly, muffling the whine of the Ecto-One as it pulled up to the apartment building, parking itself in the fire lane in front of the building. The gloomy demeanor of the crowd changed as the Ghostbusters exited the car, Peter taking the reins as he addressed his adoring public.

"Hello New York!" Peter exclaimed, opening his arms wide as if to give the entire crowd a hug. The crowd cheered even louder as Peter walked to the police separator, greeting the citizens of New York with a firm handshake and kissing the hands of the most beautiful women this side of the Hudson. "Well, hi, everyone!" Peter shouted to the crowd earning even more cheers.

Ray walked around the front of the Ecto-One before Peter grabbed his arm, raising it high above his their heads. "Dr. Ray Stantz! Would you please? The heart of the Ghostbusters!" Peter egged the crowd on. Ray waved nervously at the crowd as they cheered even louder, gaining a few extra hoops and hollers from Angie. Peter was living it up as he dropped Ray's hand and patted him on the shoulder. "They love you. They love you here." Ray just shook his head in amazement as he watched Peter mingle with the crowd; going back to shaking hands and kissing babies. "I like that shirt, pal." Peter commented on a fans homemade shirt, the black sharpie outline of the ghost emerging from the restricted sign prominent on the white t-shirt.

Egon and Winston made their way to the back of the Ecto-One, opening the back before pulling the modified stretcher out, wielding four back-mounted proton packs. "Gotta run – got a date with a ghost!" Peter waved to the public as he turned to the guys, helping as they slipped into their individual proton packs. "Alright, whatever happens, let's be professional." Peter said as Ray helped him into the proton pack.

The crowd continued to cheer, from the doomsday prophets to the punks, even the Hassidic Jew cheered, holding onto the brim of their hats as they jumped for joy. Some of the people in crowd started shouting cheers at the boys, others started a poorly timed chant of "Ghostbusters", never really syncing up with the others in the crowd. The boys had suited up; each branching their own proton pack as they walked passed the crowd.

Peter hammed it up, going back to his routine of toying with the crowd. Egon and Winston just put their heads down, solemnly as they walked to the entrance to the apartment building. Ray faked a smile, nodding to some of the people in the crowd as they cheered them on, rooting for the only hope for this city. Angie joined in on the cheering, shouting out different words of encouragement if only they could hear her. The crowd was so loud, Angie could barely hear herself.

This would be the last image she'd have of Ray, walking into the unknown with nothing more than a juiced up power outlet on his back. She couldn't let him go like this.

The boys all stopped in the middle of the road, looking up at the top of the massive apartment building. The dark clouds gathered at the top, even sending out lighting strikes as almost a warning. An unearthly gust of wind blew through the street, taking everyone off guard.  
"We might have to put a little over time on this one!" Ray shouted over the supernaturally charged gust of wind. Angie and Janine cowered down; huddling together before the ground itself started to shake.

The ground started to split apart, concrete separating from asphalt as parts of the building started to collapse, falling off the building. The people ducked, cowering to the ground as the concrete sconces fell from the building, hitting a police car, crushing the empty cab. The water main broke, spewing water all over the dwelling crowd as the concrete shifted, creating peaks and valleys in the middle of the street.

The Ghostbusters didn't stand a chance. All four of them fell in to the massive sinkhole, screaming as they fell. Janine and Angie's eyes both widened as the last glimpse they had was a blurry glance of a grey jumpsuit. "No!" Janine shouted, her shriek muffled by the sound of everyone else's screaming, dodging the murderous architecture as it fell from at least twenty stories.

As quickly as it started, it froze. The concrete gargoyles no longer falling from the building, the large cracks in the middle of the street no longer growing; but an eerie silence spread over the crowd as the boys in grey were nowhere to be seen. Slowly, the crowd returned to its feet, even Angie and Janine stood up on their own, Janine needing more emotional support more than anything. Angie stood holding Janine, dumbfounded as she realized what had happened. The Ghostbusters were gone, and not only would she never seen Ray, or Egon, Winston or _Peter_, there was no one else who could stop this thing. New York would have to live with the ghosts tormenting the city as long as they lived, before turning to the other side.

Everyone was silent, waiting for someone to say what they were all thinking as they starred at the sink hole in the middle of Central Park West. A thick smoke bellowed from the sinkhole, making most of everyone's view hazy. Though, through the thick smoke, a single hand reaching out of the pit before grabbing onto the jagged concrete.

"There they are!" A lady in the crowd shouted, causing a chain reaction of the crowd cheering uncontrollably as Ray emerged from the wreckage. His eyes widened to unnatural dimensions, he looked in a daze as he climbed out of the hole with a mighty "Humph!". The others followed, stumbling out of the hole as the crowd screamed in glee at their heroes. They all surfaced from the smoke, standing atop the mouth of asphalt and tax payer money as Peter addressed his crowd. "We're all right, it's all right." He said, calming the crowds all ready frail nerves; though something in the back of Angie's mind told her it wasn't just for the crowd. "We can handle it, we can take it."

"They want to play rough, huh?" Peter teased the crowd, pumping them up once more after being knocked to the ground, literally. The crowd was ecstatic, from the Hassidic Jews, to the street punks, to the catholic priest that had accumulated in the crowd, they all cheered loudly and enthusiastically at Peter's taunts.

"Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters!" The crowd chanted in time with each other, Janine and Angie joining, holding each other for emotional support neither one thought they'd need.

The boys nodded to each other, almost smirking as they turned to face the apartment building, more commonly known as the Ivo Shandor building, thanks to Ray and Egon's research. They all took a moment to prep themselves, mental getting ready for the no doubt blood bath before them. Peter nodded to himself, determined to get this over an done with as he strolled into the Ivo Shandor building, the other three Ghostbusters following closely as the crowd cheered for their new heroes.

* * *

Peter's eyes rolled to back of his head; resting his forehead on the unfortunate Ghostbuster in front of him, he was certain he was dead from exhaustion. The building was a thousand degrees, Peter figured, putting his college educated brain on task. The jumpsuits made of a material from the seventh gate of hell, not being able to breathe and holding all of the extra heat inside, slowly cooking them alive. To add to Peter's list on complaints, the proton pack had gotten heavier. Peter silently blamed Egon for making it heavier, more than likely adding an upgrade to the hardware between level one and ten. Groaning and panting, Peter shouted to the leader of the pack.

"Where are we?" He panted, resting his sweaty head on the jumpsuit in front of him, surely leaving a sweat stain on their suit. Ray, leading the way up the staircase from hell, panted, keeping himself from falling over by the sure grace of god having a rail beside of him.

Swallowing, he exclaimed, "Oh, it looks like we're in the teens somewhere."  
"Well, when we get to twenty, tell me. I'm gonna throw up." Peter said, nodding to himself as the four of them continued moving up the staircase from hell step by agonizing step.

* * *

The gasps for fresh air echoed up the stairwell, bouncing off the concrete walls as the four of them climbed each story with a certain groan on their lips. Their legs wanted to give out, begging, pleading to the men themselves to just simply rest. They ignored the tightening muscles in their legs and continued on, clomping up the staircase.

With an exasperated gasp, Ray leaned against the wall, resting the back of his sweaty head on the cool painted concrete. "Twenty-two." He called out, reading the numbers crudely painted in the stairwell. "Is this it?"

"Yeah." Peter groaned from down the stairs, earning a well deserved sigh of relief from Ray as his entered the tattered hallway. The hallway looked like a warzone, wall paper peeling from the walls, door blasted off their hinges and lying on the camel carpet. The neighbors' trash littered the corners in the hallway, one corner collecting enough pages from the 'New York Times' to make a papier-mâché hat. The rest of the Ghostbusters poured into the hallway, all calming a wall to rest on, even for the moment. A mix of gulping and panting exited their mouths, all silently making promises to get into shape after this as they looked around the trashed hallway. "Art-Deco. Very nice." Egon said, looking over the trash in the hallway to admire the decoration of the aging apartment building.

Ray lifted his head from wall, looking at the gold painted plaques beside each apartment door, noting the escalating and decreasing numbers as they lined the hall. "Where is it?" Ray asked, swallowing heavily. This wasn't even the hard part; he scolded himself as his lungs burned from his panting. Peter pointed with his head, "It's at the end of the hall."

The four of them reluctantly sauntered down to the end of the hall, taking this time to catch their breath before the next part of the bust: actually catching the damned thing. Peter strolled to the front, pausing hesitantly at the door to Dana Barrett's apartment. He raised his clinched fist to rap on the white-washed wood before the door fell of the hinges, falling to the ground with a fantastic crash; a small cloud of dusk filled the air as the boys took a good look at the view before them.

Where Dana Barrett's apartment used to be, it was no more. The outside structure of the building had been disintegrated, annihilated, blown off the face of the earth as it gave an unobstructed view of the Hudson bay. Her once fashionable furniture had been turned over in a fuss, thrown around like they were nothing. Something was different, Peter pondered, rubbing the five o'clock shadow growing on his cheek; he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Ray looked around the apartment, looking passed the mess and gaping hole in the building for any sign of the Gatekeeper or the Keymaster, having followed a strong hunch that Louis/Vinz would be around here somewhere. Something had changed, as he was drawn to a busted part in the wall. His brows creased, looking passed the savagely ripped sheetrock to a set of concrete stairs climbing to an unheard of final level. Even after pouring over the blue prints for hours on hours, days upon days – he didn't remember another level. The only thing above this level was the roof!

"Hey, where do these stairs go?" Ray shouted, gaining Peter's immediate attention. Rushing to Ray's side, Peter took a long hard look at the staircase, drawing only one conclusion: "They go up." Peter said with a nod to confirm his theory.

Taking the annotative and the lead, Peter marched towards the busted sheetrock and exposed staircase. His confidence was shattered to pieces after a single bolt of lightning struck, shaking the scientist out of his comfort zone. He stutter stepped, pushing Winston and Egon in front of him. "Okay, go ahead. Come on, go ahead." He coursed, waving them through to most certain doom. Egon and Winston shook their heads, Winston looking to the others for any sort of comfort in having Peter as a boss, but finding none as they continued to the staircase, Peter holding up the back.

* * *

Just as he'd thought! There was no extra level, the staircase leading to the roof top of Ivo Shandor's building. The psychopathic architect made sure to every every bit of hoodoo in for extra effect in his re-construction of the Temple of Gozer. Ray's eyes traced over the large stone alter in the center of the temple, used for human sacrifice during Ivo's days or Gozer worshipping. The Alter lay at the base of two massive double doors carved out of stone. The doors themselves where covered in a Sumerian or possibly even Sebouillian, the hieroglyphs but a blur at this distance – If only he could get a little closer, he might be able to read what they mean.

Dana Barrett stood atop a concrete platform, her eyes zone out into a thousand-yard stare as she took a deep breath, her chest rising from the sharp intake of air. Louis stood opposite her, standing on opposite sides of the staircase, his gel-ed hair still a mess as now even his glasses were off kilter, tilted ever so comical. Raising their arms over their head in unison, the supernatural power of Gozer presented its services at a burst of lightning struck from the heavens, hitting both Dana and Louis. Somehow, the two humans had enough power to redirect the lightning blast, turning all of the power to the door atop the marble stair case.

Slowly, the golden doors opened antagonizing-ly enough, giving the four of them time to marvel in awe. A bright light exited the doors, resembling a lighthouse in the middle of the supernatural fog; the light peering into the dark clouds hovering above of Manhattan and most of its occupants.

"Dana!" Peter shouted, as soon Dana started to shake uncontrollably. Having no control over her own body, the poor woman fell to her hands and knees, an unearthly growl exiting her lungs as she being to take on more canine features in place of her own. She now wielded a long tail, her eyes turning from a pleasant shade of brown to a demonic tone of crimson, and her pointed teeth peeked out from behind her jowls as thick, mucus like drool exited her snout and collected on the platform below.

"Okay. So. She's a dog." Peter muttered to himself, watching the transformation unfold before him. It was hard to tell of Peter was in shock, or just out of it, at he showed no emotion towards his girlfriend's apparent transformation into a demonic canine.

The four of them run out in front of the staircase, each wielding their proton wands in case either Vinz or Zuul want to try and take a chunk out of a Ghostbuster. Looking passed the massive stone doors; they were taken back at the paranormal scene behind it.

From behind the door laid a massive stone staircase – Great! More stairs. –, they seemed to climb on for miles before reaching a set of monumental golden doors with even more writing on it. From behind that, a single pyramid hovered, being held up by no exterior means then simply by magic. The four of them stood in shock, frozen in terror as the only movement they made in there ever changing environment was to squint from the blistering bright light.

From behind the fabulous golden doors of Gozer, a small figure emerged from the smoke. It slithered along like a snake, strutting almost as it reached out to its favorite terror dog, petting the top of its head adoringly. The terror dog seemed to purr under its master loving touch as the small woman looked at the four men in grey. Her red eyes peered down at them from atop her marble stair case of doom, a sly smirk creeping across her sickly pale face. Ray couldn't believe his eyes, surely he was mistaken, his eyes playing tricks on him in the light.  
"It's a girl." Winston exclaimed in awe, his eyebrows furrowing.  
"It's Gozer." Egon explained as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.  
Ray shook his head, both agreeing and disagreeing with all of them.  
"It's Kitty."

* * *

I am seriously cranking these things out.  
It's a good thing too, cause I think my space bar is dying.  
But... Yeah  
So, Kitty's back!

I hopeyou enjoyed it!  
~Pure.


	15. Stay Puft Man

Ghostbusters belongs to Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and the big wigs at Columbia pictures.  
I do not own anything that I might have off-handedly referenced.  
I only own Kitty and Angie Reed.

* * *

Kitty stared down the Ghostbusters with a lethargic look in her crimson eyes as she raised an eyebrow. Out of all of the warriors on this plane, this is who has been chosen? Her once straight hair had been pulled back into a high pony tail, showing off her tired features as she glared at the four of them in the most condescending way. Covering her sickly pale body was an almost transparent mesh, covering most her while leaving nothing to the imagination. Kitty strutted to the center of the stair case, her neck craning like an animal as the sized up her mortal, earthly opponents.

"Kitty?" Peter asked, questioning his own hearing as he could have sworn Ray just uttered the name of their former client; the nice lady with the evil sister, the ones that hadn't paid yet. Ray stared at Kitty, questioning his sanity as they watched her strut across the platform.

Egon shook his head, "It's not Kitty." He said, watching as the young twenty-something petted the other terror dog. "It's Gozer."  
"I thought Gozer was supposed to be a man." Winston said, reluctantly walking closer to the Babylonian – Sumerian god. "It's whatever it wants to be," Egon stated, in awe himself as his took a step closer to the temple. "And right now, it wants to be Kitty." They all took baby steps closer to the temple, hesitant to get too close in case of an ambush or if the terror dogs decided to attack, defending their master.  
"Well, _who_ever it is, it's gotta get through us." Peter shouted as more of a warning to the sub-creature before them.  
"Right." Ray nodded.  
"Go get her, Ray!"

Ray froze. Silently he wondered if Peter had really just said that, or maybe he was simply getting on in years. Turning his attention to the loud mouth, Peter stood there with a smirk on his face, nodding his friend to his certain doom. He didn't want to go, not wanting to face the wrath of Kitty once more after the hellish night she'd put them through earlier in the week. However, he wasn't going to let Gozer, Kitty – who ever take over this plane of existence.

Slowly, hesitantly, Ray walked up the staircase, silently singing the song as he put one foot in front of the other. Swallowing deeply, he looked to draw the attention of the Sumerian God that was currently ignoring both him and the Ghostbusters presence.

"Gozar the Gozarian!" Ray shouted, earning the attention of the young woman as she pulled away from her loving demi-gods. "Good evening! As a duly designated representative of the state, county, and city of New York, I order you to cease any and all supernatural activity, return the body of Katherine Reed of 55 Central Park West to her natural state and return forthwith to your place of origin or nearest parallel dimension!"

"That oughta do it. Thanks very much, Ray." Peter uttered sarcastically, spinning on the ball of his foot as if they were done.

"_Are you a God?"_ Kitty growled, her paranormal voice matching the bizarre grovel that she had voiced while possessed. The question took Ray by surprise, what kind of question is that? Better yet, what's the right answer for that? Reluctantly, Ray turned around the face Peter, seeking some type of help but finding none as Peter simply nodded his head. _'Thanks Pete,'_ Ray thought, '_you're a big help._'

It was now or never.  
"No." Ray answered truthfully, hoping that he'd get brownie points for honesty. Honesty apparently didn't translate well into Gozarian, as Kitty's delicate features twisted in disgust.

"_Then - DIE!"_

Harnessing the power of the Temple, Gozer threw her arms out in front of her as lightning shot from her fingertips, attacking the boys. With a supernatural effect, the power of Gozer pushed the boys across the rooftop.

The boys grabbed onto anything they could, statues of different sizes, the stone blocks on the floor, before ultimately grabbing on the edge of the building, holding on for dear life. Ray wrapped both of his hands around the edge of the building, his legs flailing around over the busy New York street below as he heard concerned shrieks from the accumulating crowd below.

The boys gathered around Ray, using him as an anchor to stop themselves from going off the edge of the building. They all held on to each other, except for Winston, who was dealing with other problems. Her immense power sent Winston toppling end over end through her night sky. Reaching his long limbs out, he caught hold of a stone column from the original temple design and held on for dear life, pure adrenaline running through his veins.

As quickly as the supernatural assault started, it quickly dissipated, Gozer thinking little of the boys in grey, as if a spark and a little wind would deter them. Climbing back to their feet, they groaned at their new injuries - adding to a long list of them over the lifetime of the Ghostbusters – as they stood on their own two feet. Egon and Peter both grabbed around Ray's wrists, heaving as they pulled him back onto the building and not hanging over Central Park West.

Ray shook in his boots, wanting to kiss the stone blocks of the floor as he was no longer hanging off the side of the building. Standing back on his own again, he leaned himself back a little bit farther than normal, popping his back with a satisfyingly crude pop. He sighed in relief, at least one less thing hurt his evening.

"Ray," Winston said, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he earned the Ghostbuster's attention, "When someone asks if you're a God, you say, 'YES'!" With a deep sigh, Ray nodded in agreement, noting that one in his memory bank for next time they'd have to go against a Sumerian deity. Peter rotated his shoulder cuff, earning a few grand ole' pops from the tight joints as he sighed "Alright. This chick is toast!"

The four of them marched up to the temple, stumbling slightly, with each one in their own right and their own mind pissed off. She watched, curiously, as they all marched up her staircase, ready to take her out.

"Got your stick?" Peter called out.  
"Holding!" The boys chanted back, unhooking the proton wand in unison.  
"Heat 'em up!" Peter shouted over the sound of the proton packs charging.  
"Smokin'!"  
"Make 'em hard!"  
"Ready!" They all shouted with a look of sheer determination in their eyes. Gozer looked on, more curious than afraid as she craned her head at the mere mortals and their false hope.

"Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown." Peter remarked with a sly smirk on his face. Gozer crouched down, hitting all fours as she rocked her body back and forth, prepping herself for a leap. A hiss exited her lips as the boys released the charged proton stream, reluctant to hit their former client as the orange beams headed straight for her.

They didn't even faze her as Gozer leapt through the air, performing a fantastic areal acrobatic move you'd only ever see after the elephants in the three ring circus. The boys stopped the stream and watched in awe as she landed on the stone alter, in heels nonetheless.

"Nimble little minx, isn't she?" Peter remarked, composing himself after 'Plan A: Intimidation' didn't work. The boys stumbled with their equipment as they ramped up the power to full stream. This time, she wasn't getting away.

"Throw it!" Peter shouted, unleashing full power on the pagan god. The boys followed suit, relentlessly blasting the concentrated particle beam at Kitty's body, hoping she could take the energy. Gozer seemed to take it head on, relishing in it, enjoying it. Without a warning and almost without cause, Kitty's eyes rolled back into her head, revealing the whites of her eyes, before collapsing on the floor immense all of the streams.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Peter said, signally the guys to shut off the streams. One by one each of the orange particle beams shut off, disappearing in the night's sky only to be New Jerseys problem come the morning light.

The boys all ran up to the altar, tentative to help her immediately, fearing nothing more than a trap from Gozer. They all watched intently, noting every noise and every movement, marking it if it was anything less than human. Kitty's eyes fluttered open as she groaned, her eyes returning to a light hazel color with whites around her pupil.

Collectively, the boys gave a sigh of relief before helping her at once. Kitty sat up on her own, groaning as all of her muscles hurt all at once as if she had ran a marathon and lifted in the World's Strongest Man contest. She hissed from the pain, gently grabbing at her joints which felt like shit as the boys helped her from atop the altar. "Are you okay? Peter asked. Kitty nodded, sighing with relief.

Even thought every muscle in her body, even the ones she didn't know she had hurt, she finally felt a great deal of weight of her shoulders. How freeing the sensation, to feeling normal again. A huge grin spread across her face as she nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Ray stood in shock, looking into space as it were as the idea just hit him, the sudden realization of what just happened settling on the night air. "We neutralized it!" He exclaimed, "You know what this means? A complete particle reversal!"  
Winston laughed, wielding his proton wand in awe. "Hey, we have the tools, we have the talent!" Peter patted Ray on the back, drawing his mind for the scientific theories this research had presented. Peter had something much more humane in mind. "It's Miller time!" Peter said, raising his hand for a high-five. Ray shook his head, stopping himself from laughing as he high-fived Peter.

Kitty smiled, shaking her head at the juvenile scientists as they celebrated amongst themselves. "You guys have actually done this before, right?" She asked, watching as Peter got high-fives from everyone, except Egon, who was too busy looking at the PKE meter to receive a simple high-five.

Peter smirked at the young woman as he snorted. "Oh yeah, we do this kind stuff all dah time, right there, uh, Ray?" Peter said, imitating a typical New Yorker accent; adding his own spin on it as he stuck out his gut, giving the appearance of a pot belly.  
Ray shook his head as he addressed the former possession. "Though we _do_ catch ghosts, we rarely have to deal with Sumerian Gods trying to take over the world."  
Kitty nodded, licking her chapped bottom lips before uttering the mumbled words. "Good… glad to hear it…"

"Ray?" Egon stated, bring all the attention on him and the evitable party to a halt. "This looks extraordinarily bad."

Ray questioned him, shaking his head vigorously before the building began to rumble from deep below in its belly. The building that Ivo Shandor had worked so hard in creating, building, perfecting was shaking, about to crumble to the city streets.

The immense shaking forced the Ghostbusters and Kitty all to fall, hitting the concrete blocks with such a force. From below the echoes of the crowd screaming filled the night air, pieces continued to fall from the building as crash below, even hitting a New York police car, causing the siren to go off for a moment before finally dying.

Kitty cowered, huddling under the large altar to shield herself from the falling debris as the boys tried to stay on their feet, only to be knocked down by the trembling building. "Look out!" Egon shouted over the sound of concrete gargoyles hit the stone tile below their feet, landing only a yard from where they were standing.

"_Subcreatures!_" The groveling voice came back, emanating from nowhere and everywhere all at once. At one point, Kitty pondered, if it was in her head too. "_Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar, the traveler, has come! Choose and perish."_

"What do you mean 'choose'?" Ray shouted to the sky. "We don't understand!"  
_"Choose! Choose the form of the Destructor!"_ Gozer growled.  
"Whoa! I get it, I get it!" Peter said, stepping out from line from the others. Peering towards the sky, he winked at what he hoped was just a satellite. "Whatever we think of – if we think of J. Edgar Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover is going to come down and destroy us, okay? So just empty your heads." Peter demanded, clearing his own mind of anything, cute, cuddly, homicidal – everything!

Kitty nodded, following Peter's instructions to a T. She knew that if anyone would screw this up, it'd be her. Something innocent would pop in her mind, like a jellybean or a bunny rabbit, or a bunny rabbit that shoots fire out its nose and jelly beans out its butt!  
She_ really_ needed to get some sleep.

"_The choice has been made! The traveler has come!"_

Kitty's eyes widened. _'Oh shit.'  
_  
"Whoa whoa whoa! Nobody chose anything! Did you choose anything?" Peter asked, pointing his gloved finger at Egon who shook his head. "No!"  
"Do you?" Peter asked again, this time pointing to Winston who raised his arms in surrender.  
"My mind is totally blank!"  
"I didn't choose anything!" Peter shouted, counting himself out. Gradually, it dawned on him, a fresh light bulb going off in Peter's mind as he didn't hear a response from Ray or Kitty, both over which were silent as the grave. All of them turn around to the two nearest the altar, watching intently as Ray cowered, looking anywhere but at the guys.

In a flash Peter had made his way over to Ray as he stared out into space, a dull blank expression on his face as he muttered "I couldn't help it." Ray said, troubled at his own realization. "It just popped in there!"  
"What? What just 'popped' in there?"  
"I – I tried to think –"  
"Look!" Egon shouted, pointing over the high rise apartments for Manhattan.

Kitty turned her head, but whatever Egon had pointed at was gone, vanishing behind the skyscrapers. All but tripping over her slippers, which just occurred to her that they were pink with matted bunny ears flopping in the wind, she scrambled down the staircase beside the altar and sacrificial area. The farther she was from that thing, the better.

"No it can't be!"  
"What is it?"  
"What did you do, Ray?"  
"Aww shit!"  
Leaning over the concrete divider that separated her from being a chalk outline on the street below, Kitty peered over; trying to look passed the office and apartment buildings to catch a glimpse of the destructor. Something in her fired, suddenly not wanting to run from the end of the world, but to watch as it took its form.

Ray looked on in horror, hoping for all their sakes that what he'd thought of wasn't coming to destroy them. Pausing in fear, Ray looked on as the familiar fluffy white confection fiend rounded the corner, now in full form for all to see. Ray's heart dropped at the sight of the cheerful, albeit disturbing smile, sighing before uttering the words he regretted so.

"It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man."

The fluffy white goo-ball of paranormal activity stomped through the streets, crushing the minuscule car beneath its sugary limbs. Its eyes combed the roof tops of Manhattan, its hauntingly cheery smiles a constant as it started searching for something in particular. The taxi's below didn't stand a chance, the drivers being a little distracted by the 100 foot marshmallow man to watch where they were driving, running into other cars and leading to a twenty car pileup. The people ran, ducking into random convenient stores to hide from the confectionary giant as he tore through the town.

"Well there's something you don't see every day." Peter said apathetically, staring down at the monster he'd only known as a popular advertizing icon.  
"I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never ever possibly destroy us. Mr. Stay-Puft…"  
"Nice thinking, Ray." Peter said sarcastically, keeping his eyes on the big pile of sugar goop making its way towards the Ivo Shandor building.

"We used to roast Stay-Puft marshmallows, by the fire at Camp Waconda!" Ray exclaimed, trying to defend himself. It was no use. The very thing he loved as a child, something that even as an adult he would have never thought would hurt him had come to destroy him, and ultimately the world. He was so out of it, so enamored with the marshmallow that was coming to kill them; he didn't notice Kitty until she was right next to him, comforting him with warm hand on the shoulder. 'At least it wasn't my bunny!' Kitty thought, silently thanking Ray for taking one for the team. If she had to bet which one would have been better to deal with, she'd say that the Stay-Puft man was much better than some radioactive Easter bunny.

"Ray has gone bye-bye, Egon. What have you got left?" Peter asked, still not peeling his eyes away from the giant as he got closer and closer. Egon solemnly shook his head, his mouth agape in pure shock. "Sorry, Venkman. I'm terrified beyond all rational thought." Kitty nodded her head, agreeing with the scientist as she stayed quiet.

The people below shrieked, running for their lives as the marshmallow man got closer, forcing the police to pull the barriers back. The local news team ignored this great advice as went forward, watching the viewfinder more than the actual scene before them.

The Stay-Puft man looked up at the Ivo Shandor building, and more importantly, the five people standing atop the tall building. His cartoon eyes zeroed in on the boys in grey as he unleashed a gut wrenching growl at them, the unearthly and bizarrely sweet smelling growl vibrating the glass pane windows in the floors below.

"Mother pus bucket." Peter muttered, being the only curse words he could figure out at this time as he continued to stare at the homicidal marshmallow man. Turning his sights upward, Mr. Stay-Puft wobbled his way closer to the building, his gigantic feet stepping up before crashing down onto the roof of an one hundred year old gothic cathedral.

"Nobody steps on a church in my town!"

* * *

Thanks for reading.  
I hope you enjoyed it!  
Pure.


	16. Crossing the Streams

I do not own Ghostbusters.  
That right belongs to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, of whom I'm sure I'm misspelling both their names.  
I own Katherine and Angela Reed.

* * *

"One, two, three!" Ray counted out as he haphazardly pointed his proton wand over the railing, aiming at the confection colossus. "Roast him!"

All four of them pull the triggers on their proton packs, sending the positively charged electrons through the sky in a fantastic orange light show. Kitty stood back, part from amazement and part from the heat radiating from the packs themselves. How the boys managed it after all this time, was beyond her. Maybe it was the jumpsuits?

The proton streams hit Stay-Puft in his joyful, gooey face, turning the expression of happiness into one of extreme supernatural anger. The marshmallow shrieked, throwing his body against the brick exterior of the building, sending the flames straight up the brick, flickering up at the Ghostbusters. What had looked like a gentle flame from affair quickly turned into an inferno as the flames were sent back up the building, scorching the Ghostbusters, along with some eyebrows.

Peter wrapped his gloved fingers around Kitty's arm the Ghostbusters ran away from the 100-foot flaming sugary snack. He pulled her along, as he followed the boys behind a concrete barrier. It's as if Ivo Shandor, the architect of this hell hole, knew that someone would need protecting from a 100-foot marshmallow man. Not sure how he would know, but it was a nice thought. Kitty and Peter crouched down, hiding from the curious candy.

"Funny, us going out like this. Killed by a hundred foot marshmallow man. " Ray said, solemnly, hanging his head in early defeat.  
"We've been going at this all wrong." Peter said, pointing with his head at the flaming candied giant. "This Mr. Stay-Puft isn't so bad. He's a sailor, he's in New York; we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!"

Kitty shook her head at Peter as they heard the distinct roar of Stay-Puft, getting closer and closer with every passing minute. The roars were one of the terror and anger as the flaming pile of marshmallow goop came climbing up the side of the building. Passed the angered grunts of Mr. Stay-Puft, you could hear the sound of terror from below, the citizens of New York scrambling to get out of the way of the sugary icons big ass feet or become squashed like the cathedral.

"I have a radical idea." Egon spoke up, earning the unblinking attention of all parties, Ghostbusters or no. "The door swings both ways. We could reverse the particle flow through the gate."  
"How?"  
"We'll cross the streams." Egon said, flinching ever so slightly as he did. Peter pointed his finger at the scientist, calling him out. "Excuse me Egon, you said crossing the streams was bad."  
"Cross the streams…" Ray parroted, the idea sinking in a little bit at a time.  
"You're gonna endanger us, you're gonna endanger both of our clients, Kitty and the nice lady who paid us in advance, before she became a dog."  
"Not necessarily." Egon said, the faintest look of fear on his exaggerated features. "There's a very slim chance we'll survive."

Winston's shoulders dropped with the notion that he wasn't going to make it home for dinner. This wasn't want he'd signed up for: dying the first two weeks of working for the company. He shared a tired look with Ray, who nodded silently but seemed he was a bit more understanding about the idea.

It was the only plan, the only way. It's not like there was just an on/off switch on the back of the gateway to the Temple of Gozer. Though, it killed him to know that he'd never seen his loved ones again, never go for a stroll through the park again, and never see Angie's face again smiling back at him. But she'd be safe. And Kitty would be safe as well, saving Angie from a life of rainbow pills and mental institutions.

Curiously, Ray took a glance at Peter, who didn't really change his expression over the news of Egon's idea. The idea almost appealed to him: no more rent, no more traffic, and you get to haunt whoever you wanted – what's not to love? Though, Christmas would be hard, those stupid séances would be dreadful, and Valentine's Day would be excruciating. He wouldn't like it, but it would be a world without the candied colossus running around.

They all stayed silent, each going through their own thoughts about the end, the idea growing grimmer with each passing second as the marshmallow giant climbed the apartment building. Peter, glancing around at the sad faces of his comrades popped up, playfully slapping Ray on the cheek.

"I love this plan!" He exclaimed, turning to Kitty as she stared in shock at the man's complete 180 in expression. "I'm excited to be a part of it. Let's do it!" The boys all nodded to each other, pumped by Peter's 'pep talk', slowly emerging from their hiding places. "This job isn't worth eleven-five a year!" Winston grumbled, groaning as the boys moved from there hiding spot to take one the ancient deity.

"What do you want me to do?" Kitty asked quietly. Peter turned back around to face Kitty, she looked so frail, nothing more than skin and bones from the weeks of being possessed, her skin just starting to regain some color back to her cheeks. Though looking sickly and fragile, her eyes burned with child-like enthusiasm. Peter bit his bottom lip, kneeling down near the young woman.  
"I need you to stay hidden, okay?" Peter said, his normal condescending attitude gone as he actually sounded responsible. Kitty almost did a double-take, wondering what in the hell had gotten into Peter? "Don't come out until we tell you to."  
"What if you aren't here to tell me to come out?" Kitty asked, thinking the worst was about to happen, like the rest of the boys. Peter's lips curled into a smirk, crinkling his aging features as he stood straight up, proud and tall with his hands resting on his hips for effect.  
"Please. We're the Ghostbusters."

With a wink, Venkman jogged up beside his teammates, narrowly missing a swipe from the angry Mr. Stay-Puft as he had almost reached the top of the building. The sweet monster had made its way up the building as it peeked its gigantic head over the side railing. The boys all lined up in a row in front of the temple of Gozer, the terror dogs staring at the four of them intently as they all charged up their proton packs.

Venkman elbowed Ray in the side, gaining the scientist confused attention. "See you on the other side, Ray." Venkman said, before turning on the proton stream, his own goodbye to his friend. Ray gave a weak smile, nodding along. "Nice working with you, Dr. Venkman." Ray said, before turning on his own proton stream. Ever so cautiously, to two combined the orange particle streams, creating one large one aiming right at the heart of the temple.

Egon's was next, buzzing and popping as the streams connected at triple the power of the regular one. Hesitantly as ever, Winston charged up his proton pack and pulled the trigger, slowly combining all four particle streams as they mercilessly attacked the temple of Gozer. The orange particle stream concentrated on the temple, building up power against the supernatural stone work of the doors to the other realm.

Mr. Stay-puft had finally made his way up to the roof, as he lifting his head over the railing at the worse time. The marshmallow screamed, the sound blood curdling as the four proton streams combined into one, creating a large burst of proton energy directly it at the temple, the source of Gozer's power on this realm. The blast hit the temple with such a force, causing a great explosion. The temple gates slammed closed, causing an unearthly boom over Manhattan as door way starting to explode.

All Kitty could see was Mr. Stay-Puft, his fluffy white face now covered in the pock-marks of the proton streams. To say Stay-puft was angry was an understatement as he swung at the Ghostbusters. It was too late. The blast from the temple radiated from the portal, vaporizing Stay-puft in a magnificent display of energy as it coursed through his puffy, sugary body, melting upon impact. The blast was too bright, blinding Kitty before she slammed her eyes closed, in fear of the blast as what else it might do.

* * *

When Kitty had finally opened her eyes, all she could see was white. Fearing that she had gone blind, she rubbed her eyes with her fist, but the outcome was the same. Everything, the building, the statues, even Kitty herself was covered in the gooey remains of Stay-Puft. Moving on her hands and knees, Kitty crawled out from the hiding place, making a large track in the marshmallow goop as she slide across the floor.

The Temple of Gozer was no more. The portal was shut tightly; the doors that once opened to the large staircase and the golden door with the floating pyramid were gone, nothing more than a pile of rocks covered in goo. The altar that once stood in the middle of this great temple had been broken in two, busted on both legs and split right down the middle; but still, covered in the goo. The goo smelled heavenly; reminding Kitty of the summer nights staying up telling scary stories and roasting s'mores – oh… that's why…

She began to stand on her own, pushing herself up on her feet as she took survey of the surrounding. Everything was broken, everything was covered in goop but nothing moved. Not a single movement from the goop. Spinning on her heel, Kitty turned around, watching the edges of the apartment building as she heard the cheers from below the street erupt.

Suddenly, the cheering and celebrating of the civilians below became only background noise, as Kitty's ears perked up to a groan in the corner. Kitty spun on her heel, turning to the corner to face the source of the groan, a large goop of marshmallow fluff moved.

Wiping the fluff away from his face, Ray groaned at the new muscles aches that he was definitely gonna feel in the morning. "Oh..." He moaned, sitting himself up and off of whatever he was laying on. It was soft and kind of squishy, and groaned whenever he moved. "Winston? Are you alright?" Ray asked as he lifted himself from Winston. Winston smiled, the goop around his face muffling the movement as it barely registered. "Yeah, yeah." Winston moaned, laughing as he did. Ray couldn't believe it, at least half of them were safe.

He turned around, facing the original blast zone as he took in the new decoration of the roof top, the rubble littering the floor. Crawling as Kitty once was, Ray moved away from the corner, looking around the barren wasteland of goop for the other two. "Venkman? Spengler?" Ray called out, his voice echoing over the rubble. Slowly as to not create any new injuries, Ray helped Winston up, pulling his up by the forearm as he continued to search for the missing Ghostbusters "Venkman? Spengler?"

Winston made a mad dash to Kitty as she wondered, hovering in a daze. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as his deep voice asked "Are you going to be okay?" Kitty looked to Winston and smiled, nodding her head as she was at a loss for words. There were no words that could describe the ultimate happiness and freedom that came with the temple being destroyed. No longer would she be plagued by the demon of her closet, no more would she have to dread about becoming possessed. Oh, to be free.

Egon stumbled over to the other two, both loosing and maintaining his balance as he walked the five paces from where he layed, his entire suit, pack, and glasses covered in goop. "Oh, Spengler, are you okay?"  
"I feel like the floor of a taxi cab." Egon groaned, brushing some of the Marshmallow off his suit, only to put it back on with his sugarcoated hand.

Peter walked over to the group, groaning slightly but not quite as covered in goop as the rest of them. Even Kitty scoffed when his marshmallow quota was filled by a single smudge on his hair. "Venkie!" Ray exclaimed, only to scoff himself at the amount of melted Stay-Puft on his uniform.  
"Yeah. I'm all right." Peter said, dusting his arms off.  
"Thank God. Are you okay?"  
"I'm all right."  
"You all right?"  
"I'm all right."  
"You okay?"  
"Fine…" Peter said apathetically as he wondered around the ruins of the Ivo Shador altar / Temple of Gozer. Crunching pieces of rubble beneath his feet, peter solemnly made his way over to the two dog statues. Smoke cleared the statues as they smoldered, being fried by the explosion as well as everything else had.

Peter gravitated towards one statue in particular; the Zuul had turned to stone, frozen in place as the explosion knocked it over, its claw hovering the air as it almost asked for help. Peter didn't say a word, instead being silent as he looked over the statue in sorrow. "Smells like barbequed dog hair." Ray said involuntarily before mentally slapping himself as he noted Peter's reaction. "Oh… Oh, Venkman. Oh, Venkman, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I – I just forgot."

Venkman's heart had been broken. One of the first times he'd fell in love, she turned out to be a bitch; the second time, she turned into a dog. His luck with women didn't seem to be changing for the better, as slowly his love interests started going backwards in the evolutionary chain. He hung his head, saying a silent prayer before turning to leave the roof top, not wanting to catch any of the boys' expressions of sorrow or pity.

The claw from the Zuul statue had fallen, breaking into a million pieces of ash upon impact. The boys started to walk away, mourning the loss of their client, before noticing the fallen claw, and the pair of fingers working its way through the soot. "Look!"

Peter was the first to rush to the statue, quickly pounding away at the crisp ash that covered like a cocoon. The others rushed to help, even Kitty started beating away at the dog statue, cracking the surface with her fist as it slowly began to turn black with the dust. Peter started pulling away chunk after chunk, breaking the soot apart with his bare hands, running on pure adrenaline as they uncovered a small, delicate, feminine hand. As he ripped the chard flesh away from the hand, it began to reveal a young woman, her curly hair flowing around her dazed face as she moaned loudly.

"Somebody turn on the lights!" An echoed voice shouted from behind them. They all turned and watched as a figure walked around with a Zuul head over his own, looking too much like a Halloween mask. Peter pointed to him and shouted "Go check on that little guy!" Peter's plan to dismiss the other Ghostbusters worked as all of them, even Kitty, ran over to help the 'little guy'.  
Dana's eyes fluttered open, her eyes looking around the ruins before landing on him, her brown eyes looking into his. "Oh… Oh…" she moaned, her eyes never leaving Peter's. "Oh… Hi…"

They pulled the chard head off of Louis shoulders as the gawk-ish man looked around at the ruined state of the roof top. "Boy, the superintendents gonna be pissed." Louis exclaimed, taking all the damage in as his apartment was pretty much totaled. Egon and Ray helped Louis down, holding him by his forearms as he stumbled onto the ground level. "Are you okay?"  
"Who are you guys?" Louis asked, eyeing both Ray and Egon independently. The two scientists were covered in marshmallow from head to toe; peeking from underneath the confection was the grey uniform with each person's last name on the breast pocket. The proton pack buzzed from behind as Ray looked to Mr. Tully with great pride in his job, despite the melted sugary snack covering his face.  
"We're the Ghostbusters."

Louis looked back and forth between Egon and Ray, silently judging them and wither or not they were telling the truth – or wither or not he cared. "Who does your taxes?" Louis asked, following the Ghostbusters as they started to leave the scene, hoping that no one was gonna ask them to clean up.  
"You know, Mr. Tully, you are a most fortunate individual!"  
"I know."  
"You have been part of the biggest interdimensional crossrip since the Tunguska event of 1909!"  
"Felt great!"  
"We'd like to get a sample of your brain tissue."  
"Okay." Louis said, nodding along with whatever Ray and Egon had to say as they lead him off the roof.

Winston stayed back. His hands resting comfortably on his hips, the perminate smile on his face a side effect of a good days work. Even over the rubble, the explosion, and even the goo; it was still worth it all. With a deep breath, Winston raised his goo covered arms over his head in victory, shouting for all of Manhattan to hear:

"I LOVE THIS TOWN!"

* * *

_"If there's something strange _  
_ in your neighborhood, _  
_ Who yah gonna call?_  
_ GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

Peter walked out first, hand in hand with his damsel as they greeted the anxious crowd. The ones who had stayed faced the blunt of Gozer's attacks, as seen by the matching blobs of Marshmallow goop on the adoring public. Despite all the extra terror that went on, a majority stayed and watched everything unfold. Peter waved to the fans as the cheered for their heroes. Dana was shyer, barely making out a single wave to his admiring fans as she continually tried to hide behind Peter. He wasn't having any of it, as he spun her around and gave her a long, passionate kiss on the lips, driving the fans wild.

_"If there's something weird_  
_ and it don't look good,_  
_ who yah gonna call?_  
_ GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

Dana pulled away, giggling at Peter as he shook his head back and forth, like a guy on an old cartoon after he finally kisses the girl. It wouldn't surprise anyone if he'd go full cartoon by the end of the evening, thinking he could survive a hit to head via mallet, or survive a baby grand piano landing on top of him. But for right now, he was perfectly content being crazy, stupidly in love.

_"I ain't afraid of no ghost."_

Peter did his PR stuff, walking and talking with the fans, signing autographs for the people, kissing babies, kissing babes – though that usually meant Dana. Dana shook the hands of some people and even took some strange compliments from some creepy guy with a 'COLLEGE' t-shirt on. Smiling, she still shook his hand before backing away from the police line slowly, edging closer and closer to the Ecto-one.

_"If you're seeing things  
running through your head,  
Who can yah call?  
GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

Ray exited the building second, taking in the scene before him. It was incredible! All of these people here for them – and to think they were actually kicked out of their previous employment! If only Dean Yager could see them now, oh how Ray wished he could have been there to see the look on his face.  
Kitty exited shortly after Ray, holding her pale arms close to her body to keep in some warmth on a cold day in November, almost December. The crowd cheered as the two exited the building, seeing both the hero and one of the victims together. The crowd roared with such ferocity that Kitty didn't even hear her coming.

_"An invisible man  
sleeping in your bed,  
who yah gonna call?  
GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

Out of nowhere, Angie ran up and hugged Kitty, almost taking the poor child off of her feet as she stumbled to keep balanced. "Oh my God, Kat, are you alright?!" Angie questioned, burying her face into Kitty's collar. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"  
"Ang, I'm fine. I'm fine!" Kitty assured, trying to calm the spastic Angie as she continued questioning. "They saved me." Kitty said, looking over at a certain Ghostbuster as he put a cigarette between his teeth. Angie followed Kitty's eyes and smiled, her knight in shining armor. Angie bit at her bottom lip, the once pale flesh becoming rosy beneath the skin as Ray turned his head towards Kitty and Angie. He smiled, her heart skipped a beat.  
He winked, her heart stopped in its place.  
He was getting brazen.

_"I ain't afraid of no ghost!"_

She could get brazen too, she figured as she walked up to the scientist. He smiled, holding his cigarette between his teeth as he looked down at her. "Can I help you?" He asked before wrapping his lips around this filter of the cigarette, taking a long drag. Angie just smiled at him, "You're unbelievable, you know that right?"  
Exhaling, a steady stream of smoke exited his lips. "I've heard that before."  
"So I guess you think you get the girl now, huh?" Angie asked, setting her hands on her hips as she cocked her head to the side. He just smiled, wrapping his arms around Angie's waist as he pulled her closer. Their chests touching, they could feel each other's heart beat as they beat out of time. Angie's arms snaked their way up his arms, resting on his forearms as she moaned lightly. Ray leaned in closer, the smell of burnt marshmallows and cigarette smoke heavy on his breath as he whispered, "God, I hope so."

_"Don't get caught alone – oh no!"_

Her soft lips crashed into his rough, chapped lips as she took him by surprise, pulling him down to her level as she passionately kissed him. Ray's eyes widened from both surprise and delight; he never thought he'd get this reaction out of Angie, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna fight it. Her arms moved on their own accord, working their way up Ray's arms, to wrapping themselves around the back on his neck, a villainous chill went up his spine as he shook slightly, enjoying the ferociousness of Angie.

_"Let me tell you something:_  
_Bustin' make me feel good!"_

Kitty turned away, both to give Angie and Ray privacy and to stop herself from throwing up over to two of them making out. She watched as Janine ran up passed the security barricade to hug Egon. He awkwardly returned the gesture as the both walked to the Ecto-one, Janine's arm wrapped around Egon's. Slowly, she made her way to the Ecto-one, hoping for at least a ride back to the station, seeing as how her apartment was a bit more than 'fixer-upper'. Over the past couple days Kitty had heard Angie talking about moving from the apartment. It was a bit too late to move now, seeing as most of their belongings were blown up or completely drenched from the firefighters 'attempt' to put out the flame. They were without home now, so they'd have to let them go to the firehouse, even if by way of guilt trip.

_"Who yah gonna call?_  
_ GHOSTBUSTERS"_

Kitty followed behind Janine and Egon, following step by step as they made their way to the Ecto-one. Egon helped Winston take off his proton pack and stick in the back with the rest of the packs, sliding it in the modified stretcher as Peter came around the side. He did a quick double take, making sure Kitty was actually standing there. "What are you still doing here? Go home."

"See that big hole in the wall?" Kitty asked pointing to the place Dana Barrett's apartment used to be. "Then see that little apartment next to it?" She then shifted, so she was pointing at the apartment currently drowning from the firefighter's use of the hose. Peter bit his bottom lip, looking down at his marshmallow covered work boots. "You guys blew up by home."

_"Who yah gonna call?_  
_ GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

"We did NOT blow up your home." Peter defended. "We blew up the temple. Your apartment was just collateral."  
"Before you showed up my apartment was there, now it is not – are you sensing a pattern here?" Kitty said, toying with Peter as he smiled, narrowing his eyes at the younger of the two. "Is this cause of Dana?" Peter asked, his voice returning to a normal roar. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but I couldn't stand to break your heart."

"Don't worry, Dr. Venkman. I'll survive." She resorted back with a wink. Peter simply smiled shaking his head as he was bested by a girl. Kitty smiled back, biting her bottom lip. "Thank you… All of you!" Kitty said, including Egon and Winston as they nodded in acknowledgment. "Thanks for saving me."  
"Anytime." Peter said with a wink, before leaving the back of the Ecto-one, and making his way back to his Dana.

_"When he comes through your door_  
_ Unless you just want some more,_  
_ I think you'd better call._  
_ GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

"Hey Ray!" Peter called out, pulling Ray from the affections of the beautiful girl next to him. "You can make-out with her in the car, let's go!" Ray turned a new shade of red as he smiled at Angie, his arms still wrapped around her waist. Ray hummed, "Venkman's getting antsy."  
"Venkman can wait." She said, pecking him on the lips once more. It took every fiber of his being to stop himself, pushing Angie away. "No, we've really got to go back to the firehouse now. Do you want to come with? I mean, there _might_ be enough room."  
"It's okay." Angie said, moving her arm down around Ray's, grabbing the cigarette out of his hand. "If there isn't enough room I can just sit on your lap." She said, smiling a flirtatious smile before taking a long drag of the cigarette. His eyes almost bugged out of his head, the new shade of red blending neatly with his completion. Grabbing Ray's wrist, she unwrapped herself from his grasp and started to pull him towards the Ecto-one, despite being in a daze.

_"Who yah gonna call?_  
_GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

Sliding across the large front seat, Angie climbed in the driver's side, sitting beside Winston as he flashed her a bright smile. She smiled back, waiting in silence as Ray paid the valet. Well, almost silence. "Wait a minute!" Peter complained from the back, the beautiful woman he'd saved leaning on his shoulder. "Why does she get the front?" Kitty rolled her eyes at Peter's outburst towards Angie; Egon just shook his head before staring out the window. "Is that all I have to do to get front seat, make-out with Ray?"  
"It doesn't hurt." Angie retorted to the backseat.  
"Sorry Ray, but I value our friendship too much. I don't think we should take it to the next level." Peter said, dramatically from the back seat, earning a giggle from Dana, who was still a little woozy from being trapped in a dog statue.

Ray slid into the car, bumping legs with Angie as she was almost literally squeezed in between the two busters. He shared a winning smile with her before he turned the key in the ignition, the engine roaring as Ray put the car in gear.

_"I can't hear you!_  
_ Who yah gonna call?_  
_ GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

She felt like she was in an old movie, where the two teenagers make their way up to the drive in theater to watch some b-movie monster show. The two of them get cozy together, sitting almost on top of each other as the teenage girl rests her head on the boys shoulder, while he pretends to yawn just to move his arm around her. Though she had already bumped up to him, slowly she put her head on his shoulder, sighing with relief that this was finally over.

Ray smirked, peeking over his shoulder at the young woman as her wild and crazy hair completely covered his shoulder. Trying not to make any more of a scene, thanks to Venkman, he turned his eyes back on the road as the siren for the Ecto-one blasted, the annoying whine even louder from inside the car. The police waved the Ecto-one down the street, having blocked off a large part of the adoring public so that the Ecto-one could get through. The aging police officer waved Ray through with a small traffic cone while the others held back the crowd just so they wouldn't get run over.

_"Who yah gonna call?_  
_ GHOSTBUSTERS!"_

Finally, a clear path to the street. The fans cheered as they watched the Ecto-one drive down the street, even some of them chasing it enthusiastically as it drove down the street, rounding a turn with high velocity, almost coming up on only two tires.

_"Who yah gonna call?"_

* * *

Apartment 22b is destroyed.  
Kitty is back, if only for the time being.  
And the hero(es) gets the girl(s).  
It is the end.

I feel honored to have your audience.  
To have you all post reviews, add me and this story to lists, and even just your viewership means so much.  
I didn't think I'd ever get back into writing, much less have people actually want to read it.  
It's bizarre, I'm not used to having people want to read what I've created.  
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  
You all made the hours for writing worth it and editing pages bitter sweet; I never wanted to let you down.  
And an extra special "thank you" to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis for developing this franchise and not suing me for writing this - you rock.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.  
~Pure.


	17. Epilogue

I do not own Ghostbusters.  
That right belongs to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.  
I own Kitty and Angie Reed.

* * *

The sun was shinning high in the New York sky this morning, the beautiful sound of car horns and pigeons cooing feeling the sweet autumn air. The warehouse styled window of the five story walk up was cracked just slightly, filling the brand new apartment with the bitter chill reminding them the winter was on its way.

The apartment was a two bedroom, two bath four story walk up in the middle of Washington Heights. The character and charm of the neighborhood drawing Angie in like a moth to a flame. Kitty was just glad to be living somewhere with lower rent and less spooks living in the closet, both of each where big pluses.

Before moving in, Kitty had the boys raid the apartment from top to bottom, making sure that there were no ghosts or goblins, or portals or ancient Sumerian temples hiding in under the couch. They gave the apartment a clean bill of health, having used all their equipment and gizmos after Kitty had begged them to check once more. Peter had to sit her down and explain that there was nothing here.  
_"Besides,"_ Peter added, putting his arm around Kitty's shoulders as he started to walk towards the exit._ "You still haven't paid for last time."_

Now on this bright a sunning morning, the sun light peaking through the warehouse windows, the large wooden door had been kicked open by a size nine work boot. Ray groaned as he carried in a large cardboard box with the label 'Angie's Books' in his hands. Through the grunts and groans, Ray finally dropped the large box of books as it hit the already damaged hardwood with a thud. He took a deep sigh, filling his lungs with the still air of the empty apartment as Angie walked through the doorway, the box in her hands saying 'Kitty's clothes'.

"Not so loud next time," Angie scolded, setting the box of Kitty's clothes by the hallway. "Some of my neighbors might still be asleep."

"Sorry, but those book were heavy!" Ray complained, leaning against the wall as he rubbed his back. First saving the world then helping his girlfriend move, at this rate his body would never be fully rested. Angie stuck out her bottom lip, the rosy flesh puckering out as she sauntered over to the tired scientist.  
"Aww, poor Ray." She said, snaking her arms around his neck. He returned by wrapping his arms around her waist as he continued to pout. "Is you mean ole girlfriend not letting you take a day off?"

Ray bounced his head up and down as he stuck his bottom lip out.

"Poor baby." She cooed, edging closer and closer to his lips, taunting him with every itch closer. "I promise after we move all this crap in here, you and I will take a much needed stay-cation - how's that?"  
"What about the boys?"  
"They're not invited."

Peter walked thought the doorway, his features twisting into an expression of disgust as he put the cardboard box that was in his hands down, stacking it on 'Angie's Books'. "Why are we not invited?" Peter asked, putting his hand over where his heart should be. "Do you not love us anymore? After we saved your sister and everything?"

Angie smirked as she pulled herself from Ray's arms, regretting as she did so, to circle Peter, like a hawk circling its prey. Her eyes narrowed at the cocky young man he seemed to have a higher air about him since walking through the door way.

"Now Peter, the reason _you're_ not invited is because I'm going to have hot sex with your best friend." Angie said, her hands firmly on her hips. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ray turn a deep shade of red before covering his eyes from the stares of the other occupants in the room; which at this point were just Angie and Peter. "See, I don't think you'd want to be a part of that – unless your friendship goes deeper than I thought."

"Yes." Peter said, his face deadpan as he looked to Ray, his complexion turned to a deeper and deeper red. "Ray and I are madly in love."

Ray almost fell out of his chair as he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. '_Great_' Ray thought, burying his head in his hands. '_More witnesses_.' The thick sound of boots on old wood got closer and closer as Winston lead Kitty through the open door to the apartment.

Winston helping Kitty with a heavy box labeled 'Pots and Pans'. As they two of them worked their way into the kitchen, Winston could sense something in the air. With a heavy thud, and a residual jiggle from the metal pans, the box had been placed down on the linoleum floor as the two of them walked back into the living room eyeing each of the patrons in the room.

"What did we miss?" Winston asked, pointing between Angie and Peter as they were in a staring contest. From beyond the staring contest, Peter shouted. "Oh nothing, Angie just invited us all to have a romantic vacation with each other, including a little _ménage à trios_." Adding a suggestive wink at the end.  
Angie grew a rather large smile on her face. "And then Peter confessed his love for Ray."  
"_Touché, mon amie._"

Winston looked back and forth between Peter and Angie, and Ray, who sat in silence as he wished this day would be over. It was ten o'clock and he already wished he'd just go to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning; maybe that day would be better.

"Okay." Winston said, elongating the simple two syllable word. "Kitty and I are gonna go get some more boxes - and maybe warn Egon while we're down there." Winston grabbed Kitty's wrist and pulled her out of the apartment and down the hallway, clomping back down the stair case.

Angie smiled at Peter, finally giving up the ghost, embarrassing him as far as she wanted to embarrass him in front of his coworkers. Peter smiled back, raising his eyebrow at the insanely happy young woman as she passed him, grabbing an unlabeled box and heading to the kitchen. With each step Angie seemed to bounce, almost skipping along as she entered the kitchen and exited the field of sight.

Peter took this advantage, making his way towards the emotionally scarred Ray as he continued to hid his head in his hands. Peter thwaped him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his self pity party. "Come on Ray, you can't honestly tell me that you didn't see this coming." Peter said, sitting on the armrest of that god-awful couch the sisters insisted on bringing to this new apartment. This was the only thing the fire didn't get too, and it was a damn shame.

"I didn't think you two were gonna be at each other's throats like that." Ray admitted, raising his head from his hands as he looked at Peter's confident face.  
"That's the way Angie and I communicate!" Peter exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air for exaggeration. "If we didn't pick on each other then something would be wrong."  
"But do you have to bring me into it?" Ray asked, referencing the earlier conversation about Peter and him being in love; all while Angie started it, bringing up him and Angie having sex. The idea alone was enough to make him blush.  
"You're our link!" Peter explained, patting his friend on the back. "Besides you, we have nothing to link us together. Sure we've got the whole 'I-saved-her-sister-thing—"  
"We all saved her sister—"  
"The point is that besides you we have nothing to link us together, nothing to say that we even know each other besides a passing glance." Venkman explained. He unwrapped his arm from around Ray's shoulders before putting both of his hands together in front of him, interlocking the individual fingers together. "You, Ray, are the glue that holds this bizarre-o family together."

Ray rolled his eyes before Angie walked back into the room, holding the empty and broken box cardboard box in her hands. She tossed a curly lock of hair behind her ear as she threw the box in the corner with the rest of the all ready opened boxes. "What are you boys talking about?"

"Nothing." They both said at the same time, both with the look of a young child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Angie raised her eyebrow at the two investigators, doubting there childlike story before Peter started off on another rant on Angie.

"So out of all of Manhattan, you pick the crummiest neighborhood." Peter said, rising from the arm of the couch as he strolled around the empty living room. Running his finger down the painted wood mantle, his finger collected dust from the years of vacancy. "You could have left Manhattan, you know? I know I wouldn't mind."  
"Thanks for your consideration, Venkie." Angie started, straightening up a throw pillow on the aging couch. "But we needed to stay on the island. My work is here, Ray is here." She wrapped her arm around Ray's shoulders as he snaked his arms around her waist. "And if I lived in, let's say Brooklyn, I'd be too far away from you to make your life a nightmare."

Venkman turned around, over exaggerating his movements as he looked around the apartment. He had a simple answer to his 'Angie' problem. "You know Ang," Peter said, using Angie's even shorter nickname as he 'felt' the room. "I think we were wrong in our first assessment." The color in Angie's face fell, her face now white as a ghost.  
"Oh no."  
"Oh yes!" Peter exclaimed, waving his arms around the room, wiggling his fingers at her. "I happen to be very psychic, ask Ray." Angie looked down at Ray as he shrugged his shoulders. "I believe - and this _is_ my professional opinion - that you have a ghost."  
"No, Venkman, come on!"  
"I wonder how Kitty would react, knowing that there is a ghost in her room."  
"There is no ghost in her room—"  
"He was a confederate soldier." Peter started, focusing his eyes on the distance as he utter with words out in monotone. "He died shortly after being brought here from the battle at Gettysburg—"  
"Shut up!" Angie exclaimed, moving away from Ray as she almost cling-ed to Venkman. "If Kitty hears you talking like this, she's never gonna move in here and it's gonna be five-weeks before we find another place."  
"What? Do you not like living with us at the firehouse?"  
"Oh yes, I love sleeping on that flea-infested death trap you call a pull-out couch." Angie sarcastically resorted, leaving out the part where she would rarely sleep on said couch, opting for a much more comfy spot in Ray's twin bed.

Peter looked down at the young woman, pleading for him to keep his mouth shut. Only once in his lifetime would he have Angie begging him for something, he wanted to remember this moment well for when he'd grow old a senile, when his grandchildren would never come visit him at the home, he'd have this memory of Ray's girlfriend begging him for something, making the old man smile at the look of torment on her face.

Peter's lips curved into an all too familiar figure as he smirked at the young woman. In the back of her head Angie could recall swearing every name in the book, even a few more that she just made up. "I want you to tell me, _'Peter Venkman, I owe you my life_.'"  
"I'm not doing that—"  
"Wait, there's more." Peter said, putting his finger to Angie's lips before she pushed them away. "I want you to say_: 'Peter Venkman, I owe you my life and my sister's life. For without your ultimate kindness and consideration, my sister would still be possessed'_."

Angie bit her bottom lip. She could not tell Peter that blatant lie and have Peter tell Kitty, which would cause her to want to move out immediately. Or she could just suck it up and bare it, trading in a few moments of despair in for a few months worth. Gritting her teeth, she started.

"Peter Venkman," She said through gritted teeth as she stared dangers at the man. "I own you my life and my sister's life. For without you, my sister would still be possessed."

"A little choppy, resentful, and you missed some key words but okay, I won't tell her." Peter smirked, before resting on the only good piece of furniture in this crummy apartment: the lazy-boy recliner. He sat in the piece of furniture sideway as Angie sighed heavily, being physically drained from saying those words. Like a zombie, she wobbled into the kitchen, opening the door to the liquor cabinet and grabbing the first bottle with 80 proofs on the glass bottle.

Ray shook his head, the words playing back in his head over what Peter had told him:  
_"If we didn't pick on each other then something would be wrong."  
"But if this thing doesn't work I say we let the ghost eat her or whatever."  
"But the Koala?"_

It was because, somehow, they actually liked each other, Ray theorized, watching the two of them react with each other. They squabbled like siblings would, both trying to get on the other ones nerves, see who reacted first. Maybe it was because they were so alike, the two strong personalities both fighting for dominance.

Peter sighed in annoyance, swinging his legs to the side as the stood up out of the aging lazy-boy recliner and made his way towards the kitchen, towards Angie who was in the vicinity of a number of different knifes. Not quiet his brightest moment.

Angie stood at the counter, a bottle of whiskey sitting on the dated counter top as she slammed back a shot, tipping the small shot glass bottoms up as she swallowed the amber elixir. Trying to stay silent, Peter tipped toed around the kitchen, only to be outed by a squeaky floor board. Cursing under his breath, he raised his hands over his head in surrender as Angie spun around, facing him.

"I'm sorry for making you say those things." Peter apologized, a color that was rare for him as Angie furrowed her brows.  
"What?"  
"I said I'm sorry."  
"Why?" Angie questioned, her eyes narrowing at the scientist.  
"Can't you just take the damn apology?-" Peter shouted before covering his mouth. He wasn't here to shout, that's not what he wanted. "It was childish to make you say that, so I'm sorry. I won't tell Kitty." Peter said solemnly, hanging his head as a child would after he was forced to apologize. Angie smiled; a true smile that he'd never seen from her before today. He silently wondered if this was part of a game and she was winning.

"Thank you." Angie said, putting the shot glass back down on the counter top. "For everything."  
"I hadn't done anything yet—"  
"You did save her." Angie said calmly as she approached Venkman, causing him to back up frantically "You all did. You, Egon, Ray, Winston – you all saved her. I didn't get a chance to tell you that day, but I wanted to thank you then."  
"Angie you're scaring me. Quit it." Peter admitted, having now backed up all the way to the opposite side of the small kitchen, sitting comfortably on the counter top, clinging to the cabinets. She unusually cheerful towards him; he didn't like it.

A conflicted look appeared on Angie's face. She looked confused in her own home, her own kitchen, in this very conversation. "I-I don't like this" she admitted, backing away from Venkman as she leaned against the aging refrigerator. "I don't like being nice to you." She said, regretting the words as they left her mouth. That's not what she meant, but something told her Peter understood all too well.  
"Yeah. I was actually about to be sick while apologizing." Peter admitted, wiping his chin with his sleeve.

"Why don't we just go back to normal?" Angie asked, biting the inside of her cheek. "Just go back to reaming each other out – like old times sake?"  
Peter raised his eyes brow to her, questioning her sanity as she just asked him to be mean to her. Though, it didn't _not _sound appealing; going back to reaming her out in front of everyone, making fun of her at Ray's expense, all the while she couldn't get mad because she was doing the same to him. It was almost too perfect.

Peter got down off the counter top, taking his sweet time to cross the kitchen as he extended his hand to her, a truce. She smirked at him, taking his hand and shaking it as the unspoken bond had been completed, they could go back to making fun of each other. With a smirk, Peter started back:

"Those pants make you look fat."  
"That sweater vest makes you look gay."  
"It's Ray's."

With a smile Angie nodded, finally feeling back to normal as the two of them exited the kitchen, earning a strange look from Ray. His eyes bounced from his friend to his girlfriend, watching as the two where better off now, making fun of each other then when they're were supposed to play nice. It was incredible, an actual live psychological experiment and Egon missed it.

Angie exited the kitchen first, smiling as she made her way over to Ray. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders once more, she asked an odd question that took him back a bit: "What's up with the sweater vests?"

* * *

Pure.


End file.
